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Trade Wars
Global Chip Dispute Threatens Auto Production
U.S. assembly plants are weeks away from shutdowns due to a new chip shortage. Germany’s VDA, the lobbying group for the auto industry, warns that suppliers and automakers in Europe are also only days away from having to shut down production because of another chip shortage. In late September 2025, the Dutch government seized control of Nexperia, a Chinese-owned chipmaker supplying essential components to carmakers worldwide. Within days, China retaliated by restricting exports from Nexperia’s Chinese operations, triggering warnings from automakers that production lines in Europe — and potentially the U.S. — could face serious disruptions.
Nexperia may not produce the most advanced semiconductors, but it manufactures high-volume automotive chips that control electronic systems in modern vehicles. Without them, automakers cannot assemble cars efficiently. Automakers used what is called “legacy chips,” and most have not changed even after the last chip shortage. The disruption could lead to short-term production slowdowns, with car plants in Europe, Japan, Korea, and potentially the U.S. reducing shifts, delaying vehicle launches, or postponing deliveries. BMW and Volkswagen in Germany are actively evaluating supply risks, while Ford, General Motors, Toyota, and Hyundai in the U.S. could see plants affected within weeks if chip shipments are delayed.
Read more at CBT News
Novartis To Buy U.S. Biotech Firm Avidity Biosciences For About $12 Billion In Cash
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has agreed to buy biotechnology company Avidity Biosciences for about $12 billion, the company said Sunday. Novartis will pay Avidity shareholders $72 a share in cash, a premium of 46% to the company’s Friday closing price. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, after Avidity spins out parts of its business, including its early-stage precision cardiology programs, the company said in a statement.
Avidity specializes in developing an innovative class of ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapeutics called antibody oligonucleotide conjugates. RNA-based therapeutics are a relatively new class of medications that work by altering how genes are expressed to treat or prevent diseases. The Avidity deal comes as Novartis ramps up its research and development division. The company earlier this year pledged to invest $23 billion to build out its U.S.-based infrastructure, which includes plans to construct a second R&D hub in San Diego. The pharmaceutical giant has also struck two key deals with Anthos Therapeutics and Regulus Therapeutics this year to boost its development and manufacturing of cardiovascular and kidney disease drugs.
Read more at Flight Plan
Texas Instruments Revenue Higher - Signals ‘Slower’ Semiconductor Market Recovery
Texas Instruments, a maker of chips for automobiles and personal electronics, reported revenue of $4.7 billion in the third quarter, up 14% over last year, driven by growth in both its analog and embedded processing segments. The overall semiconductor market continues to recover, however, at a “slower pace than prior upturns,” Texas Instruments CEO Haviv Ilan said on the earnings call. He assured investors that conditions are improving, saying that customer inventories are low and stock depletion activity is behind them.
Net income was $1.36 billion, unchanged from last year. Meanwhile, the company is moving forward with its Utah investments, while winding down its older 150-mm fabrication plants in Texas. It announced layoffs for 150 employees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area earlier this month, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Toyota September Output Grows For Fourth Straight Month, Aided By Strong US Demand
Toyota Motor on Monday said its worldwide production increased by more than 10% in September and rose for a fourth straight month, as both sales and output increased in the U.S., the Japanese automaker's top market. Toyota's global output for September grew 11% from a year earlier to 918,146 vehicles. Production for the month in the U.S. rose 29% due to robust demand for hybrids and a recovery from last year's production suspension of two models.
The world's largest automaker said production in Japan increased 9% and in China, it rose 16%. Global sales rose for the ninth consecutive month in September, advancing 3% to 879,314 vehicles, with U.S. sales up 14%, offsetting a 1% decrease in China and a 5% decline in Japan. Toyota has sold 7.8 million vehicles during the first nine months of the year, up 5% from a year earlier.
Read more at Reuters
Qualcomm Announces AI Chips To Compete With AMD And Nvidia
Qualcomm announced Monday that it will release new artificial intelligence accelerator chips, marking new competition for Nvidia, which has so far dominated the market for AI semiconductors. The AI chips are a shift from Qualcomm, which has thus far focused on semiconductors for wireless connectivity and mobile devices, not massive data centers. Qualcomm said that both the AI200, which will go on sale in 2026, and the AI250, planned for 2027, can come in a system that fills up a full, liquid-cooled server rack.
Qualcomm’s data center chips are based on the AI parts in Qualcomm’s smartphone chips called Hexagon neural processing units, or NPUs. The entry of Qualcomm into the data center world marks new competition in the fastest-growing market in technology: equipment for new AI-focused server farms.
Read more at CNBC
Blue Origin Expands Fla. Operations
America's exploration of the stars goes beyond NASA, as privately owned companies are an important part of the equation. That includes Blue Origin, an aerospace company that's expected to be part of NASA's future commercial space station. Blue Origin is now looking ahead with several projects, including a new rocket refurbishment facility and a payload processing facility, both at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Blue Origin has a solid foothold in Florida, as the company has nearly 4,000 employees in the state. It's also invested over $2.3 billion through various partnerships with hundreds of local suppliers across the state. With 11 launch sites, Blue Origin has become a constant presence in Orlando, Melbourne, and Merritt Island. The company's Lunar 1 Plant at Rocket Park, near the Kennedy Space Center, is developing the Blue Moon Mark-2 lunar lander, as well as a transport vehicle for NASA.
Read more at Slash Gear
Workers Reject Boeing's Latest Offer After Nearly Three Months On Strike
Striking workers at Boeing Defense in the St. Louis area rejected the company's latest contract proposal on Sunday, sending a strike that has already delayed delivery of fighter jets and other programs into its 13th week. In a statement after the vote, union leadership said the company had failed to address the needs of the roughly 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837.
The five-year offer was largely the same as offers previously rejected, opens new tab by union members. The company reduced the ratification bonus but added $3,000 in Boeing shares that vest over three years and a $1,000 retention bonus in four years. It also improved wage growth for workers at the top of the pay scale in the fourth year of the contract. IAM leaders have pressed the planemaker for higher retirement plan contributions and a ratification bonus closer to the $12,000 that Boeing gave to union members on strike last year in the company's commercial airplane division in the Pacific Northwest.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Kratos Awarded $68.3 Million Contract To Build Next-Generation Hypersonic Materials Testing Center
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a technology company in defense, national security, and global markets, announced yesterday that it has been awarded a contract through the Department of War’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program to design and build a state-of-the-art mid-tier arc jet and coupled fiber laser facility for hypersonic materials evaluation. Known internally to Kratos as Project Helios, the contract to Kratos for the leading technology facility has a total projected value of $68.3 million. Once complete, the facility will address current critical gaps in U.S. Defense Industrial Base capabilities by providing essential testing infrastructure for thermal protection systems used in hypersonic vehicles. Key benefits include:
- Material Development - Serve as a natural bridge for material development, transitioning materials from laboratory experiments to fielded system applications more efficiently.
- Advancement of National Defense - Support critical needs for national defense through a comprehensive testing infrastructure.
- Cost Reduction - Increase throughput while significantly reducing overall program costs.
- Collaboration & Innovation - Demonstrates Kratos’ commitment to addressing high-priority defense requirements and providing long-term value.
Read more at The WSJ
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