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Trade Wars
Rare Earth Production in the US Shows Signs of Life
Modern society is completely dependent on 17 obscure metallic elements with special magnetic, heat-resistant and phosphorescent properties. While quite abundant in the Earth’s crust, these minerals are difficult to find in sufficient concentrations to mine economically, and just as hard to process and refine—hence, their label “rare earths.” China currently commands this space, producing roughly 70% of the global rare earth output and controlling about 90% of rare earth refining capacity.
In 2010, however, China overplayed its hand. The government placed significant restrictions on export quotas of rare earths, which it hoped would force overseas tech firms to relocate their manufacturing facilities to China. Instead, it led the United States and other countries to develop strategies to become less reliant on China for these minerals. Which brings us to today. While the shoe is far from being on the other foot, the United States response has been far more strategic, providing hope to manufacturers and the U.S. military and aerospace industry that China will not be able to undermine their operations down the road.
Read more at IndustryWeek
US Machine Tool Orders Still Rising
U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers’ demand for machine tools remained historically strong during July 2026, and though the $605.8 million worth of new orders recorded for the month is a drop of -8.0% from June, it is 55.2% higher than the new-order total for July 2025. According to AMT - the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology, which tracks machine tool orders, the July result represents only the second time in the 28-year history of the USMTO series “that orders have exceeded half a billion dollars for five consecutive months.” Through seven months of activity, 2026 manufacturing technology orders total $4.03 billion, 37.1% higher than January-July 2025.
AMT also noted another continuing trend in the USMTO series: the rising value of individual machines. The YTD results show that the value of orders grew by more than 33.0%, but the number of units ordered through July is only 13.0% versus the same January-July period from last year. AMT also noted the improvement in demand from contract machine shops (“job shops”), whose orders have lagged other market sectors during the past year dropped just -1.3% from June to July, while machine unit orders increased more than 2%. According to the USMTO report summary, those changes in direction indicate “a growing need for additional manufacturing capacity” by the job shops.
Read more at American Machinist
Ford Starting $1B Painting Update
Ford Motor Co. announced a new capital investment program for its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, a painting operation it estimated as a $1-billion project. The project will begin later this year, to replace the current paint operations there. The new painting operation will include dry-booth painting systems, which eliminate use of water and chemicals in the process, thereby reducing the environmental impact of the operation. “Upgraded technology in the new paint shop will deliver cleaner and more efficient paint quality, supporting continued production excellence with improved efficiency and advanced environmental sustainability,” according to Ford’s announcement.
It will install three wet painting and curing processes (eliminating extra drying booths), optimized ovens with minimal airflow and direct-drive blowers, high-efficiency Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTOs), and volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrators. Ford also expects energy savings by adopting new air-compressor and dryer technologies. The new painting process also will use pretreatment steps in place of phosphate washing, which is seen as improving corrosion protection for vehicles. According to Ford, the new painting process will optimize workflow and maximize production throughput for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and higher-quality finishes on luxury SUVs.
Read more at American Machinist
Amazon Increases Minimum Starting Pay, Adds New Discount For Employees
Amazon is once again raising wages for some of its workers and giving all of its U.S. employees a grocery discount. The minimum starting pay for full-time, core operations employees will now be $20 an hour, an increase of $1 an hour for qualifying workers, according to Amazon. The move bumps the company’s average hourly wage to almost $24 an hour. Amazon also announced Wednesday that, starting Oct. 1, its U.S. employees can get 10% off groceries they order online through Amazon and Whole Foods, and 20% when shopping in-store at Whole Foods.
There are some stipulations. The company notes that, through its website, the 10% discount applies to “eligible fresh groceries, pantry staples, and everyday essentials sold and shipped by Amazon.” Through the Whole Foods website, the 10% discount is for “eligible items ordered for delivery, including catering.” Within the store itself, the 20% discount applies to everything except gift cards and alcohol. The company on Wednesday also announced a new banking benefit, offering workers “a membership in First Tech Federal Credit Union that provides qualified employees and their families banking services they can keep for life.”
Read more at The Hill
B-52 Engine, Radar Upgrades Hit New Milestones
The Air Force’s program to re-engine the B-52H Stratofortress has moved from its technology maturation and risk reduction phase to engineering and manufacturing development, marking a new milestone in the sweeping overhaul of the Cold War-era bomber, a top official said Sept. 15. The B-52’s Radar Modernization Program, which will replace the bomber’s legacy analog AN/APQ-166 radar with an active electronically scanned array AN/APQ-188 radar, also entered low-rate initial production in August.
Under the reengining program, the B-52’s original TF33 engines, made by Pratt & Whitney, will be replaced with Rolls-Royce-made F130 engines. The 1960s-era TF33 engines are approaching the end of their service lives and frequently break, Air Force officials have repeatedly said. Many spare parts for the engines are no longer made, forcing the service to find new sources for those parts, make them in-house, or even “cannibalize” them from retired or otherwise non-flying B-52s. The new Rolls-Royce engines are intended to solve those problems. Not only will they be new, with modernized subsystems like hydraulic pumps and generators that won’t need as much work, they will be derived from commercially used engines, making it much easier to find spare parts.
Read more at Defense Blog
J&J Is in Talks to Sell Its Hips-and-Knees Business to Apollo for $20 Billion
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management APO 0.84%increase; up pointing triangle is in talks to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s hips-and-knees parts business for around $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. J&J has been seeking to unload its DePuy Synthes orthopedics business. It is possible the talks with Apollo won’t result in a transaction, however, or another suitor could still emerge, the people cautioned.
The hips-and-knee unit, which also makes instruments to repair bones and joints, had been a linchpin of J&J’s medical-device business. The company acquired the bone-repair device maker Synthes in 2012 for $21 billion and combined it with its DePuy unit to create the “most innovative and comprehensive” orthopedics business, then-Chief Executive Bill Weldon said at the time. The move is part of a broader effort to shift J&J, of New Brunswick, N.J., toward higher-growth areas. In 2023, J&J split off its consumer-health division, called Kenvue, known for brands like Tylenol and Band-Aid. Kimberly-Clark has agreed to buy Kenvue for more than $40 billion.
Read at The WSJ
ASML Wins Over Top Chipmakers for New EUV Machines
Samsung and TSMC, the world’s two biggest chipmakers, have committed to using ASML’s High NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, as demand grows for more advanced chips. ASML’s EUV lithography machines are critical tools that are used to print circuit patterns onto silicon wafers during the chipmaking process. The High NA machines can print smaller and more intricate patterns. This tool can cost around $400 million. Samsung, one of the world’s biggest memory chipmakers, said it would use ASML’s machines to produce DRAM, a key type of memory, from 2028. Samsung said it would adopt the technology in 2030, adding that it would “extend the DRAM scaling roadmap” and make the process more efficient.
Samsung and TSMC join Intel as customers for ASML’s High NA machines. In July, ASML said that Intel is using the High NA EUV technology for advanced chip manufacturing. TSMC and Samsung will also join ASML in an industry initiative to advance next-generation 12-inch photmask technology, upgrading from the current 6-inch format. A key part of chip production, photomasks are effectively the stencils used to print the patterns on the wafers.
Read more at CNBC
SK Hynix reportedly in talks with Intel to build memory chips in US
South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix is in discussions with Intel to manufacture RAM chips in the U.S. for the first time, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. The companies have reportedly discussed various options, one of which would have SK Hynix leasing space at Intel’s planned factory in Ohio to manufacture the chips. The chipmakers are also said to be considering a joint venture that could include cloud-service providers.
As a global chip shortage worsens, the Trump administration is seeking to expand production on American soil. The White House said in January that it could impose broader tariffs on semiconductor imports while offering tariff relief to companies investing in domestic manufacturing. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won signaled support for U.S. chip production in July, saying the company should build factories in the U.S., if feasible, alongside those in South Korea’s Honam region. That month, the chipmaker listed its American depository receipts on the Nasdaq, broadening its access to American investors.
Read more at Tech Crunch
The United States Lend $1.9 Billion to NextEra for Iowa’s Duane Arnold Nuclear Plant
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NextEra Energy, Inc. announced the financial close of a loan of up to $1.9 billion to support the restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. The agreement, reached through the DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF), combines a conditional commitment with an actual financial close. The financing follows a series of federal commitments to the U.S. nuclear sector, after the United States funded twelve nuclear reactor and fuel projects earlier this year.
The 615-megawatt (MW) facility operated for more than four decades before ceasing operations in 2020. NextEra Energy announced last October plans to restart the plant no later than the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approvals. In June, the Iowa Utilities Commission issued a certificate authorizing the construction and operation of the site, a further milestone in the process. According to a study cited by NextEra Energy, the restart could generate more than $9 billion in economic benefits for Iowa over 25 years.
Read more at Energy Pro
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