Factory Construction Spending Soars to New Record, +16% YoY, +242% since 2019: Result of Corporate & Strategic Rethink

By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET

Investments in the construction of manufacturing plants in the US jumped to a record $21.1 billion in October, up by 4.0% from the prior month, up by 16.3% from a year ago, up by 177% from the beginning of 2022, and up by 242% since 2019, according to data from the Census Bureau today.

After decades of no-matter-what globalization, there is now a widespread rethink underway about production in the US. These facilities will all be highly automated plants that produce complex high-value products. Forget T-shirts. They’re not going to be produced in the US.

Plants for the production of semiconductors, EVs, EV batteries, electrical equipment and components, etc. are on top of the list. As we’ll see in a moment, the tens of billions of dollars promised under the CHIPS Act have still not started flowing, but Intel, the biggest recipient, is expected to receive the first $1-billion slice by the end of this month.