A year after President Biden authorised the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act in August 2022, the US is still making progress in its efforts to catch up with other countries’ manufacturing authorities.
As per the White House, the recent efforts to revive American manufacturing, which comes after several decades of offshoring, have culminated in private companies putting over $516 billion. Throughout the country, there are numerous multibillion-dollar investments that include a wide range of industries, right from biotechnology infrastructure to chip fabrication plants to electric vehicle battery factories, as well as renewable energy projects.
In the past four weeks, there have been notable manufacturing projects that have been added to this page, including Wolfspeed’s John Palmour Manufacturing Centre for Silicon Carbide that’s located in Chatham County, North Carolina, which is a multibillion-dollar project. In addition to this, Joby Aviation has also gone on to establish a manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio, with a budget of $500 million.
Some of the notable contractor wins include:
Whiting-Turner awarded the contract to commence the initial sitework on the John Palmour Manufacturing Centre for Silicon Carbide, which happens to be owned by Wolfspeed.
Evans General Contractors secured a contract for the construction of a $1 billion BMW EV plant situated in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
McCarthy acquiring the contract for the $400 million ICL manufacturing facility located in St. Louis, Missouri.
Tippman Group getting an order for the construction of the $205 million SK Food Group manufacturing plant in Cleveland, Tennessee.
According to an analysis by the Associated Builders and Contractors, manufacturing and construction spending went on to experience a significant increase of 65.5% over a period of a year, specifically during the month of August, when expenditure in the sector reached roughly $198.45 billion at a seasonal adjusted annual rate.
Manufacturing activity has experienced an enormous increase following the implementation of the CHIPS Act in 2022.
According to Richard Branch, who happens to be the chief economist at Dodge Construction Network, there are no anticipated obstacles to the rapid expansion.
Branch stated that there is a significant inflow of public funds into the production and infrastructure sectors, which has gone on to result in substantial growth over the past year.
The CHIPS Act allocates a substantial amount of $52.7 billion towards various aspects of the American semiconductor industry, such as research, development, manufacturing, as well as workforce development. According to the Biden administration, the package involves a total of $39 billion when it comes to manufacturing incentives. This amount is divided into various categories, such as $2 billion, especially allocated for legacy chips used in vehicles and defence systems. In addition, $13.2 billion has been allocated for research and development as well as workforce development. Lastly, $500 million is set aside to enhance as well as strengthen worldwide supply chains. The CHIPS Act also offers a 25% investment tax credit for capital expenses related to the production of semiconductors and associated equipment.
In addition, there are multiple manufacturing projects worth $1 billion or more that are still in progress and are anticipated to be finished within the final few months of the year. Branch stated that construction starts in the sector would remain boosted for the foreseeable future.
