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Trade Wars
The Chinese Factory That Opened in the U.S. and Clobbered Its Rivals
Ohio’s governor, along with state and federal lawmakers, welcomed Fuyao when the Chinese glassmaking giant took over a closed General Motors factory a decade ago. The project, supported by Ohio taxpayers, was hailed as a step to reviving a battered Rust Belt region. Now, many feel duped. Competition from the Fuyao Glass America plant is threatening about 250 jobs at a rival glass factory operating since the 1950s. Vitro, the company that owns the longtime plant in Crestline, Ohio, has spent the past year considering whether to shut down, said Carlos Bernal, Vitro’s head of automotive glass.
The entry of Chinese firms into the U.S. auto industry “not only threatens the safety and security of domestic supply chains,” Bernal said, the companies “jeopardize entire communities that rely on American manufacturing jobs.” Rivals say they can’t match Fuyao’s lower prices and allege the company employs unfair business and labor practices. The Chinese company supplies GM, Ford, Stellantis and other automakers in the U.S.
Read more at The WSJ
Rockwell Automation Confirms Wisconsin Factory Location, Part Of $2B US Expansion
Rockwell Automation CEO Blake Moret announced during a recent earnings call that the company’s upcoming greenfield factory project will be in New Berlin, Wisconsin. The company previously declined to share the location for this planned investment. The company also recently acquired a facility in Mequon, Wisconsin, which it had been leasing, for approximately $60 million.
“These two projects are aligned with our announced investments in our plants, talent and digital infrastructure and underscore our commitment to and confidence in the U.S. market,” said Moret. The project is part of Rockwell’s previously announced plans last quarter to invest in its production plants, digital infrastructure and workforce in an effort to boost its margins over the next five years
Read more at KTVZ
Novelis Fire, Tariffs, EV Reckoning Drag Ford To Worst Loss Since Great Recession
Ford Motor reported its largest quarterly earnings miss in four years in its fourth-quarter results released Tuesday, while guiding for 2026 to be a rebound year for the automaker. Ford’s 2026 guidance includes adjusted EBIT of between $8 billion and $10 billion, up from $6.8 billion last year; adjusted free cash flow of between $5 billion and $6 billion, up from $3.5 billion in 2025; and capital expenditures of $9.5 billion to $10.5 billion, up from $8.8 billion. On a per-unit level, the automaker’s traditional and fleet operations are expected to offset an expected $4 billion to $4.5 billion in losses this year for its “Model e” electric vehicle unit.
Earnings per share were 13 cents adjusted vs. 19 cents expected and revenue was $42.4 billion vs. $41.83 billion expected. The EPS coming in 32% below consensus was the company’s first quarterly miss since 2024 and its worst since a 42% difference when reporting its 2021 fourth-quarter results. The earnings miss was largely due to unexpected tariff costs of roughly $900 million related to credits for auto parts not taking effect as early as expected, the company said. Ford, as of Dec. 15, had confirmed $7.7 billion in earnings before interest and taxes for the fourth quarter, but the additional costs dropped that to $6.8 billion. Ford CFO Sherry House said the lower-than-expected earnings were also related to additional impacts from fires at a Novelis aluminum supplier plant last year in New York, which now isn’t expected to be fully operational until the middle of this year. The plant supplies Ford’s lucrative F-Series pickup trucks.
Read more at CNBC
EIA Predicts Continued Strong Growth in Electricity Demand
Electricity demand is poised for notable growth in 2026 and 2027, marking the strongest four‑year stretch of consumption increases since the early 2000s. Most of this momentum comes from the commercial and industrial sectors, driven heavily by data center expansion, advanced manufacturing, and energy‑intensive processing. Solar leads future generation growth, with the EIA forecasting more than 20% increases in both 2026 and 2027 as more capacity is expected to come online. Wind generation rises modestly at 6% annually, while natural gas stays mostly unchanged and coal generation has an expected decline in 2026.
Regionally, the West South Central region, including Texas, leads the nation. Commercial electricity sales in the region are expected to increase by 10 billion kilowatt hours (BkWh) in 2026 and 33 BkWh in 2027, accounting for about 30% to 50% of total U.S. commercial‑sector growth in each year. Industrial demand in this region also surges, tied to oil and gas extraction, refining, and LNG production.
Read more at EIA. gov
Air India Adding More 737 MAX Jets
Air India has ordered 30 more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which the OEM noted will increase the airline’s pending orders to almost 200 single-aisle and widebody jets. The new order includes 20 737-8 jets, and it includes 10 737-10 aircraft previously unidentified among Boeing's order records. No delivery schedule was announced for the 30 aircraft. Neither Boeing nor Air India noted the value of the booking - which is based on options acquired in a 2023 order - but it may have a value up to $4 billion based on the book values for those two models.
Air India is already an important Boeing customer, having ordered a total of 190 737 MAX jets (for Air India Express), 20 787 Dreamliners, and 10 777-9 aircraft as part of an overall $70-billion order with Boeing and Airbus in 2023. The new order may be just a start as India and the U.S. are due to finalize a new bilateral agreement on trade between the two nations. Reportedly, the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal expects India’s pending demand for new U.S.-built commercial jets could be close to $80 billion under the deal.
Read more at American Machinist
Toyota North American Net Income Falls Almost 25% In First Nine Months Of FY2026
Toyota Motor Corp. posted a year-over-year net revenue increase of 9.6% ($255.6 billion) on higher sales volume for the nine-month period of FY2026 ending Dec. 31, the automaker reported in its earnings release Friday. However, Toyota’s YoY operating income decreased from $24 billion to $21.5 billion in the nine-month period, while its net income fell nearly 25%, from $26.8 billion to $20.3 billion.
The automaker said the declines were largely due to U.S. tariffs on vehicle imports from Japan, which had a negative impact of roughly $8 billion on its operating income. Toyota also reported that its profits were further eroded by higher labor and operational costs across its key global markets. In North America, Toyota’s biggest global market, the company reported a rare operating loss of $40 million in the first nine months of FY2026, despite brisk vehicle sales in the region. It was due to a YoY decline of roughly $1.4 billion in operating income compared to a profit of $1.3 billion a year earlier. Toyota also cited tariff pressures for the loss, as well as an increase in expenses and other factors.
Read more at Ward’s Auto
15 Million Pounds Of Food Rescued by Regional Food Bank To Help Feed The Hungry
The Retail Rescue program rescues safe, nutritious food from cooperating grocers that would otherwise be thrown away due to strict guidelines. Last year, the program rescued 15.1 million pounds of food, equivalent to 12.6 million meals. Chief Business Officer for the Regional Food Bank, Joanne Dwyer, says the program is even more important since millions of pounds of food from the USDA were withheld as a result of federal cuts.
She says that they don’t want good food to go to waste. “They’re just things (food) that are no longer sellable, but it’s definitely wholesome and good to eat. And we want to work with everyone we can, whether it’s a retail store or any of those other businesses.”
Read more at Mid-Hudson News
U.S. Frackers Explore New Frontier: Shale Abroad
Back in the early days of the shale boom around 2010, American producers explored going abroad, according to Rob Clarke, U.S. shale analyst at Wood Mackenzie, referring to this initial period as “Global Shale 1.0.” Shale is, after all, the most common sedimentary rock and found all over the world. But production in the Permian Basin was so prolific that companies quit exploration abroad. “One of the things that killed Global Shale 1.0 was the Permian,” Clarke said. Times have changed, and conditions are now ripe for a phase that Clarke calls Global Shale 2.0. The Permian Basin is still a gusher, but the wells aren’t as prolific as they used to be. On average, Permian wells first drilled in 2016 in the Wolfcamp formation were estimated to produce 65 barrels per lateral foot drilled, according to Wood Mackenzie. Wells drilled last year are expected to produce 46 barrels per foot.
So far, there are two countries with shale basins large and proven enough to move the needle: Argentina and Saudi Arabia. Argentina is where U.S. producers are looking, though, because it is more accessible to foreign investors. In 2026 through 2030, Argentina’s Vaca Muerta is expected to add more than 700,000 barrels a day of production, double the amount U.S. producers are set to add over that period, according to Enverus.
Read more at The WSJ
Energy Market Update
Daily Market Update Feb 10, 2026
The Mar ’26 natural gas contract is trading up $0.02 at $3.15. The Mar ‘26 crude oil contract is down $0.19 at $64.48.
Read more at NRG
Learn more about the Council of Industry Energy Buying Group
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