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Trade Wars
Apple Expands US Supplier Network For iPhone Materials, Components
Apple has partnered with a new U.S. supplier and expanded its alliance with another to provide critical materials and components for the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro, according to an Oct. 20 press release. Apple’s new supplier is Perryman Company, a Pennsylvania-based titanium producer. The metal is used to make the casings of many Apple products. Apple will commit up to $100 million over the next three years with Perryman, which melts, forges and rolls titanium with at least 80% recycled content for iPhone Duo, according to the release.
Meanwhile, Apple expanded its supplier agreement with Delaware-based Qnity Electronics, which produces advanced films for the iPhone 18 Pro’s new variable aperture camera system. The aperture assembly is at the heart of the new iPhone’s 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera. The partnerships are part of Apple’s American Manufacturing Program, an effort launched last year as part of Apple’s four-year, $600 billion commitment to U.S. manufacturing, the company said. Apple works with suppliers in all 50 states and supports more than 450,000 jobs, per the release. The company’s global supply chain spans thousands of supplier facilities across more than 60 countries.
Read more at Supply Chain Dive
FAA Approves 737 MAX-10 Deliveries
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration cleared Boeing Co. to begin deliveries of its 737 MAX-10 aircraft, more than nine years after the largest variant of the single-aisle commercial jet series was introduced. Boeing has drawn close to 1,555 orders for the MAX-10 from more than 30 customers, representing about 30% of the order backlog for its top-selling jet series. Many of those are large-volume orders from major carriers - including American Airlines, Alaska Air, Delta Air Lines, Ryanair, and United Air Lines - and Boeing has said it expects to begin the deliveries in 2027.
The FAA announced it has issued an amended type certificate, confirming the 737 MAX-10 complies with all applicable design and safety requirements, and an updated Production Limitation Record, authorizing aircraft production. Demand for the aircraft is so significant that Boeing set up a fourth assembly line in Everett, Wash., to manage its planned production increases. The MAX-10 has a range of up to 3,100 nautical miles (5,749 km/3,567 miles) and seats up 230 passengers.
Read more at American Machinist
Pentagon Will Invest $1.5B Into North Carolina Chip Production
President Trump on Tuesday announced a $1.5 billion dollar investment from the Pentagon to expand semiconductor production in North Carolina, as the administration pushes to reshore manufacturing to the U.S. “The Department of War will be investing $1.5 billion dollars to produce cutting-edge semiconductor chips right here in North Carolina,” Trump said while speaking at a midterm rally in Greenville. The president also announced the construction of a massive manufacturing plant in the Tar Heel State by Sibelco.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick provided few details but said the facility will focus on quartz manufacturing. “It is basically the foundation of semiconductors, and they’re going to build it right here in North Carolina,” he said. Trump said companies have been investing in U.S. manufacturing “at levels never seen before.”
Read more at The Hill
Airbus Plans Hydrogen Powered Regional 80-Seat Aircraft
Airbus has revised the plan for its first hydrogen aircraft and is now aiming to debut a regional propeller design powered by fuel cells sometime in the 2040s. The announcement, made last week during a media event here, marks the latest shift in the company’s ZEROe program, which began in late 2020 with a goal to debut a larger passenger airliner in 2035. Airbus over the last several years has been evaluating a range of concepts, most recently a 100-seat version of the fuel-cell-powered design.
Lars Wagner, head of Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft business, said the first ZEROe plane is slated to have roughly 80 seats and a range of approximately 1,000 nautical miles. He declined to give more details, citing competition concerns, but Airbus in July announced it would form a joint venture with MTU Aero Engines “dedicated to the development and commercialisation of a fully electric hydrogen fuel cell engine,” according to a press release. Although the 80-seat ZEROe aircraft has reduced capacity and range compared to Airbus’ core single-aisle fleet, Wagner expressed confidence in the market demand. He noted the 1,000-nm range is sufficient for key European routes.
Read more at Aerospace America
Cleveland-Cliffs Posts ‘Strongest’ Quarter In Three Years
Cleveland-Cliffs saw its strongest quarter in three years, CFO Celso Goncalves said on an earnings call Monday, driven in part by higher prices and favorable costs. The steelmaker reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $612 million during Q3, which came in above its $575 million guidance issued three months ago. It was also more than double what Cleveland-Cliffs generated in Q2. Cleveland-Cliffs’ positive results coincided with one of the best pricing environments in three years.
Q3 steel shipments reached 4.2 million net tons, up 3% from a year ago and the previous quarter. The shipment mix during the period included 46% hot-rolled, 31% coated, 15% cold-rolled, 4% plate and 4% stainless and electrical. Shipments to North American automotive customers were the highest they’ve been since Q3 2023, Goncalves said. At the same time, market prices increased in the United States and Canada. The average net selling price reached $1,177 per ton, up $53 per ton from the previous quarter.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
GM CFO: Recent Inflation Jump Could Cut ’27 EBIT by $1.5B
The surge in inflation that started late this summer is on pace to cost General Motors another $400 million this year and, if prices for key goods don’t retreat soon, cut up to $1.5 billion from the automotive giant’s earnings in 2027, CFO Paul Jacobson said Oct. 20. Speaking after the leaders of Detroit-based GM reported third-quarter profits of more than $3.3 billion on sales of $50.0 billion and raised their full-year forecasts, Jacobson said the war in and near Iran has caused commodity and logistics costs to rise faster than his team had expected three months ago.
GM’s prices for hot-rolled coil steel and copper, he said, have jumped between 10% and 15% since July. That will translate into an extra $400 million in costs for this calendar year, he added, growing the collective impact of price hikes in commodities, shipping and semiconductors to roughly $2 billion for the full year. Chair and CEO Mary Barra told analysts the recent spike hasn’t given her team enough time to line up details about where to offset the added costs. But, she said, “we obviously have work to do and we plan to do it.”
Read more at IndustryWeek
Lockheed, Pentagon Strike Initial Deal To Produce 850 F-35 Jets
Lockheed Martin has entered an initial production and sustainment agreement with the Department of Defense for at least 850 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets over the next 10 years, they said on Thursday. The defense contractor will self-fund at least $7 billion in initiatives that support the F-35 program, the department said in a statement. Under the agreement with the Department of War, Lockheed aims to maintain annual production at 156 aircraft. The agreement does not constitute an order but is counted as a prearranged long-term contract.
The F-35, built with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection, is considered the world's most advanced fighter jet and is at the core of Lockheed's aeronautics division that forms close to 40% of its quarterly revenue. Lockheed estimates the agreement will support 317,000 US jobs and generate nearly $79 billion in annual economic activity over the next decade. It also expects the arrangement to lower production costs and ease supply-chain constraints from raw materials to finished parts.
Read more at Reuters
Electric Grid Equipment Manufacturer ABB Sees US Orders Rise 82%
Zurich-based grid equipment manufacturer ABB saw third-quarter orders grow 40% over the same period last year, to a record $12 billion globally, with demand from data centers and utilities in the United States helping drive growth, the company reported Tuesday. Orders from all regions improved at year-over-year double-digit rates, the company said. Orders from the Americas region were up about 70%, led by an 82% year-over-year order increase from the United States.
ABB produces a wide range of electrical equipment for utilities and other industrial users, including switchgear, circuit breakers, transfer switches and low voltage transformers. ABB’s electrification segment booked record orders of $7.67 billion in the third quarter, up 70% year over year. Orders for electrification equipment in the Americas region grew 117% in that period, ABB said, while those in Europe grew about 20% and China by almost 40% on a comparable basis.
Read more at Utility Dive
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