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Tariff and Trade War Headlines
Intel Has Manufacturing Capacity Issues. They May Take Years To Fix.
Technology companies are clamoring for processors, especially hyperscalers looking to power their data centers. The demand is so strong and supply is so tight that Intel redirected some of its production lines from consumer chips to Xeon server chips. On an earnings call Jan. 22, CFO David Zinsner said he expects wafer supplies to improve over the next six months, noting that supplies are most constrained in the first quarter. Intel, unlike fabless companies AMD and Nvidia, can leverage its own production facilities as demand outpaces supply. When asked about the imbalance, Zinsner saw it as “largely a win.”
Then again, there’s only so much available capacity. Entering 2026, he said, buffer inventory is depleted and the shift in wafers toward server chips won’t come out of the fab until later in the first quarter. In short, Intel is missing out at a critical point in the market. On the call, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said his team is “working tirelessly” to drive efficiency and increase output, but he is also mindful of the challenges ahead. During the fourth quarter, Intel’s data center segment grew 9% to $4.7 billion over last year. At the same time, consumer sales, which account for the majority of Intel’s revenue, declined 7% as the company looks to ramp up its foundry business and capture AI-driven trends.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
PwC: Automation In Manufacturing Will More Than Double By 2030
Manufacturers are expecting to more than double their use of automation, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies by 2030, according to an industry outlook from PricewaterhouseCoopers published Friday. The U.K.-based professional services firm, also known as PwC, surveyed 443 industrial manufacturing executives around the world for the report. The median share of respondents believes that advanced technology adoption throughout their operations is set to increase from 26% to 68% over the course of five years.
Two areas with the heaviest use of advanced technology today are production/operations and product design/development, according to the report. Other areas where adoption is relatively low, such as business support functions like finance and human resources, are set to quadruple by the end of the decade. “The question is no longer whether companies will adopt new technologies, but how fast they can integrate them,” Ryan Hawk, global and U.S. industrials and services leader at PwC and author of the manufacturing outlook, said. “As automation becomes ubiquitous, the advantage shifts from who has tools to who can orchestrate them across the enterprise.”
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Boeing Returns Defense And Space HQ To St. Louis
Boeing Inc. announced February 18 that it would relocate its Defense, Space & Security division to St. Louis after spending roughly 10 years in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. In a statement, company leadership said the move would demonstrate its commitment to employee engagement. The move follows a Boeing Defense workers’ strike in Missouri that shut down production for weeks in Fall 2025, as well as the recent election of Democratic Governor of Virginial Abigail Spanberger, who assumed office January 17.
The aviation company’s defense business was located in St. Louis, Missouri from 1997-2017, when it was first relocated to Arlington, Virginia, close to Washington, D.C. After ten more years, it’s on its way back to the St. Louis region, where the company employes about 18,000 in Boeing’s global services, commercial aircraft and enterprise functions as well as military aircraft manufacturing. “It’s important for leaders to be side-by-side with our teammates, listening to their feedback and acting to remove obstacles as we continue to stabilize and strengthen our business,” said Steve Parker, Boeing Defense, Space & Security CEO.
Read more at Plant Services
FedEx Closing Facilities In Upstate New York
Numerous FedEx Express locations in upstate New York will close in June as the company progresses in its multi-year network transformation. The company said the changes will streamline package pickups and deliveries with one-van, one-neighborhood coverage in many areas. With this, FedEx said customers will experience improved package speed and service and enhanced package visibility.
FedEx is going through a network transformation touted as a move to “improve pickup, transport and delivery of packages in the U.S. and Canada.” Among the facilities in upstate New York that are closing in June include those in the areas of Syracuse, Elmira, Binghamton/Kirkwood, Ithaca, Utica, Buffalo/Cheektowaga, Conklin, Plattsburgh and Watertown, according to a FedEx spokesperson.
Read more at Spectrum News
US Debuts Suicide Drone In Iran After Fast-Tracked Pentagon Procurement
The U.S. successfully debuted a low‑cost suicide drone in combat in Iran just eight months after its Pentagon unveiling, as the U.S. pushes to accelerate weapons programs. The Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drone, manufactured by Arizona's SpektreWorks, was showcased in July 2025 when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walked the Pentagon's inner courtyard with more than a dozen companies competing to supply the military with new equipment.
The rapid fielding of the LUCAS represents a departure from traditional Pentagon acquisition timelines, which typically span years from initial development to operational deployment. Defense officials said the compressed timeline reflects lessons learned from observing drone warfare in Ukraine, where both sides have employed thousands of low-cost unmanned systems. The LUCAS deployment comes as the Pentagon pushes to rapidly expand American industrial capacity for producing inexpensive, attritable drones under the $1 billion Drone Dominance Program authorized in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025."
Read more at Reuters
Nvidia Invests $2bn Each In Lumentum And Coherent For AI Optics R&D
Nvidia is investing $2bn each in Lumentum Holdings and Coherent as part of separate multiyear agreements aimed at advancing research and development (R&D) in advanced optical technologies for future AI infrastructure. The funding will support both companies’ efforts to expand their US-based manufacturing capacities and to accelerate innovation in critical components for AI data centres.
Lumentum will use the investment from Nvidia to increase its manufacturing capabilities and further its R&D activities. The company, based in San Jose,
California, develops optical and photonic technologies that are integrated into AI systems, cloud computing, telecommunications, industrial manufacturing, and sensing applications. Coherent will allocate Nvidia’s investment towards scaling up its research and manufacturing operations as it expands its US facilities. Founded in 1971 and operating in more than 20 countries, Coherent specialises in photonics technologies used by data centres, communications networks, and industrial markets.
Read more at Yahoo Finance
Rolls Proposes New Narrow-Body Jet Engine
Rolls-Royce reportedly is seeking as much as £200 million ($270 million) in U.K. government assistance to advance the development of a new commercial aircraft engine. The UltraFan 30 would be smaller but parallel version of the UltraFan 80 demonstrator engine, but aimed a the narrow-body jet segment that Rolls-Royce has not served for more than a decade. The UltraFan 30 is proposed as a propulsion system option for the next generation of single-aisle jets, aircraft that would take the place of the A320neo and 737 MAX series for Airbus and Boeing, respectively.
The UltraFan 30 is conceived as a geared turbofan propulsion system, building on the current UltraFan 80 demonstrator in development for the wide-body aircraft segment. Rolls sources explain the new design includes 90-inch diameter fan, lightweight carbon-fiber fan blades, and structural components fabricated from advanced composite materials. The group expects the proposed new engine UltraFan 30 to deliver 30% greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions than its first-generation Trent engines, with about 30,000 lbs. of engine thrust.
Read more at American Machinist
Target Reports Another Quarter Of Declining Sales Decline But Says It It Sees Some Green Shoots
Target reported another quarter of declining sales and profits as the retailer struggles to regain its footing with its customers contending with higher prices almost everywhere. But the Minneapolis company on Tuesday offered a solid annual profit outlook that was better than Wall Street had been projecting, It also said it believes net sales will grow every quarter this year. Target also said comparable-store sales rose to start the current quarter.
The company earned $2.30 per share, or $1.05 billion, for the three-month period ended Jan. 31. That compares with $2.41 per share, or $1.10 billion, during the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share for the most recent quarter was $2.44. Sales fell 1.5% to $30.45 billion during the latest period. For the full year, sales fell nearly 2% to $104.78 billion. Comparable sales — sales at established stores and online channels — fell 2.5%, followed by a 2.7% dip in the fiscal third quarter. The latest figure marks 11 quarters out of the past 13 that Target has posted either declines or flattish growth for this measure.
Read more Yahoo Finance
Engine Power Plants Surge as Data Centers Drive Unprecedented Demand
The global appetite for electricity has never been more insatiable, and at the heart of this surge stands an insatiable driver: artificial intelligence (AI). Recent announcements from major engine manufacturers reveal an industry scrambling to meet unprecedented demand. From multi-gigawatt commitments in North America to strategic partnerships spanning Europe and Southeast Asia, the scale of deployment is reshaping how utilities, independent power producers, and technology companies approach energy infrastructure. What distinguishes these projects from conventional power plant development is not merely their size, but the specific characteristics engines bring to data center applications: rapid start capability, load-following flexibility, and the ability to deliver power within months rather than years.
The defining technical characteristic driving engine adoption for data center applications is rapid start capability. Where conventional power plants may require hours to reach full output, modern gas engines measure startup times in seconds or minutes. This capability has become a critical differentiator as grid operators and data center developers seek resources that can respond instantly to demand fluctuations. Rolls-Royce is expanding its portfolio with new mtu gas engines featuring enhanced fast-start capability specifically suited for data center applications.
Read more at Power Magazine
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