|
Trade Wars
Micron To Break Ground On $100B New York Semiconductor Fab
Micron announced it will officially break ground Jan. 16 on its $100 billion megafab in Onondaga County, New York, according to a Jan. 7 news release. The company received the greenlight to proceed after obtaining “rigorous environmental review and necessary permit approvals,” per the release. Once complete, the campus, which could feature up to four fabs, will house the most advanced memory manufacturing facility in the world, according to Micron. The $100 billion investment will help the tech company meet the growing demands of the artificial intelligence boom, the company added. The company said this project marks the largest private investment in New York state history.
“Breaking ground at Micron’s New York megafab is a pivotal moment for Micron and the United States,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, chairman, president and CEO of Micron Technology. “As the global economy enters the AI era, leadership in advanced semiconductors will be the cornerstone in innovation and economic prosperity.” Officials from the Trump administration, Congress and New York state and local government will join Mehrotra during the groundbreaking ceremony Friday, according to Micron.
Read more at Manfuacturing Dive
US Consumer Sentiment Rises to Four-Month High on Economy
The University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer sentiment rose to 54 in a preliminary January reading from 52.9 in the prior month. This is the second straight gain and the highest level of sentiment since September. “Consumers perceived some modest improvement in the economy,” the survey found, although sentiment remains nearly 25% below last January’s reading. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expected sentiment would rise slightly to 53.4 in January.
Overall sentiment remains low. For instance, sentiment was 71.8 on Election Day 2024. Year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 4.2%, the lowest reading since last January. Long-run inflation expectations ticked up to 3.4% in January from 3.2% in the prior month. The gauge of consumers’ views on current conditions rose to 52.4 in January from 50.4 in the prior month, while a barometer of their expectations inched up to 55.0 from 54.6.
Read more at MarketWatch
Multi-Family Units Drive US Housing Starts Down to Lowest Level Since May 2020
Overall housing starts declined 4.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.25 million units, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This pace reflects the number of housing units builders would begin over the next 12 months if October’s activity were sustained. The total number of housing units under construction stood at 1.3 million in October, down 10.1 percent from a year earlier. Single-family homes under construction fell to 596,000 units, a 7.0 percent year-over-year decline and the lowest level since November 2020. Multifamily units under construction declined to 790,000, down from peaks above 1 million units in December 2023 and 4.0 percent lower than a year ago.
Within the total, single-family starts rose 5.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 874,000 units but remain 7.8 percent lower than a year earlier. On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are down 7.0 percent. Given recent volatility, the three-month moving average provides a clearer signal, declining to 857,000 units. In contrast, multifamily starts, which include apartment buildings and condominiums, fell sharply, down 22.0 percent to an annualized pace of 372,000 units. The three-month moving average for multifamily construction has trended lower to 424,000 units, and activity is 7.9 percent below year-ago levels.
Read more at Eye on Housing
GM To Take $7.1 Billion In Charges As It Adjusts EV Production Footprint
General Motors said Thursday it will record $7.1 billion in special charges for the fourth quarter of last year related to its pullback in electric vehicles and restructuring efforts in China. The Detroit automaker said in a public filing that the charges include roughly $6 billion related to changes to its EV plans amid weakening demand and $1.1 billion, including $500 million in cash, largely related to its previously announced overhaul of a Chinese joint venture. The announcement was broadly anticipated after the Detroit automaker in October said it was reevaluating its EV plans and would initially take a $1.6 billion charge during the third quarter as a result.
GM said the fourth-quarter EV impairments include non-cash charges of approximately $1.8 billion. The remaining $4.2 billion is related to supplier commercial settlements, contract cancellation fees and other charges, which will have a cash impact when paid. Additional EV charges are expected to hit this year but at a lower amount than 2025’s impairments, GM said in the filing Thursday.
Read more at CNBC
The War Over a Weedkiller Might Be Headed to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is poised to decide whether to take up a case involving weedkillers and cancer that could effectively curtail one of the largest waves of tort litigation in American history. The case involves Bayer, the German conglomerate that acquired the pesticide manufacturer Monsanto in 2018. Bayer is petitioning the court for a definitive ruling on whether federal law shields the company from thousands of lawsuits claiming that its widely-used weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
The Trump administration has thrown its support behind Bayer, reversing a position taken by President Biden. But the issue has raised the ire of an extraordinary coalition of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, environmental groups, and Republican-aligned Make America Healthy Again activists who say that Bayer is seeking corporate immunity at the expense of public health.
Read more at The NYT
Ralph Lauren, CFDA Launch 2 Fashion Manufacturing Grant Programs
The Council of Fashion Designers of America and Ralph Lauren Corp. have launched two new initiatives aimed at strengthening domestic fashion manufacturing, the collaborators announced Wednesday. The two grant programs will help companies modernize equipment, expand services and train workers, according to the press release. Additionally, the funding initiatives would aim to kick-start creativity as well as boost economic growth in apparel-producing regions across the United States.
One of the new grant programs, dubbed the CFDA x NY Forward Grant Fund, will provide “partially matching grants” to designers and manufacturers based in New York City’s Garment District. The second grant program, the U.S. Fashion Manufacturing Fund, is supported by Ralph Lauren and will run from 2027 through 2029, according to the luxury designer’s press release. The initiative will focus on funding creativity and workforce development in U.S. apparel-producing regions. The program will provide partially matching grants to manufacturers investing in new machinery, software and workforce training.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
F-35 Deliveries Hit New Record
Lockheed Martin delivered 191 F-35s during 2025, a record high for deliveries of the stealth fighter aircraft, and 35% more than during the previous high point - 142 delivered in 2021. “Annual F-35 production is now running at a pace five times faster than any other allied fighter currently in production, underscoring the program's scale and maturity,” according to Lockheed, the lead contractor for an extensive design and supply program. The delivery record is not likely to be topped soon. Lockheed has stated it can produce 156 of the aircraft per year.
The exceptional rise in deliveries last year included a large number of aircraft held over from 2023-2024, when the Pentagon refused to accept deliveries of because it had not approved the hardware and software revisions involved with the Technology Refresh-3 package - updates to the jets’ computing capabilities that increase data processing power, memory, and data storage. TR-3 updates are also understood to be a necessary bridge to the aircraft’s future Block 4 capabilities. In September 2025, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin finalized terms for Lots 18 and 19 of the aircraft program, agreements totaling $24 billion for delivery of up to 296 F-35s. They are the largest production contracts to-date in the 25-year history of program.
Read more at American Machinist
Boeing's Biggest 737 MAX Model Moves To Next Stage In Certification But Still Faces Hurdles
The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Boeing's largest variant of its best-selling 737 MAX jet, the MAX 10, to move to the second phase of flight testing on the plane's long-delayed certification campaign, according to a source familiar with the program. Boeing executives have previously said they expect to finish certification this year for the MAX 7 and 10, the smallest and largest variants of the popular single-aisle jet. The company has more than 1,200 orders for the MAX 10 in its backlog, according to aviation data analytics firm Cirium. Beginning deliveries of the MAX 10 is widely seen by industry analysts as critical to increasing Boeing's revenue and cash flow.
Boeing has faced delays in the certification of its MAX 7 and MAX 10 models due to an engine deicing issue. Phase two of the FAA flight testing involves the aircraft's avionics, propulsion and other parts of the design, but the deicing issue has not been resolved. The MAX 10 competes with Airbus' A321neo and risks losing more market share the longer it is delayed. This week, Alaska Airlines ordered 105 MAX 10 airplanes and Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci said he is confident the MAX 10 will be certified this year.
Read more at Reuters
|
