Eyepopping Factory Construction Boom in the US: Chip Makers on Forefront, but CHIPS Act Funds Not Even Released Yet

By Wolf Richter – Wolf Street

In December, companies plowed $18.4 billion into the construction of manufacturing plants in the US ($220 billion annualized), up by 64% from a year ago, up by 131% from two years ago, and up by 170% from December 2019, according to data from the Commerce Department. The boom in investment in manufacturing plants started in mid-2021.

For the whole year 2023, spending on factory construction spiked by 71% from 2022, and by 138% from 2021, to $196 billion. This is an eyepopping boom. It’s the result of the supply-chain and transportation chaos that companies ran into during the pandemic, the fragile and edgy relationship between the US and China, the scary dependence of US companies on production in China, and in terms of semiconductors, the dependence on production in Taiwan. It all triggered a corporate and government rethink.