HIGH MIX: Reindustrialization News for June 2, 2025

Raccoon wobblies, textile declines, SBA boosts manufacturing, and reshoring conversation spikes.

Welcome to HIGH MIX, our weekly newsletter about the reindustrialization of the United States.

For S&P 500 companies, the topic of reshoring is center-stage during earnings calls this month. (link)

Can’t wait to see these same statistics next month with the inclusion of the word “drones.”

Threat Level: Raccoon

“Rampaging raccoons add to Airbus factory headaches” REUTERS (link)

Airbus Canada is already facing setbacks from supply chain shortages. At the company’s manufacturing facility near Montreal, they now have a new problem: raccoons. Instead of dumpster-diving, the furry criminals are sabotaging airplanes in the A220 assembly line. Airbus workers have no choice but to disassemble planes they’d already built to ferret out any damage.

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Government / Politics

“Small Business Administration boosts manufacturing funding efforts” RETAIL DIVE (link)

SBA’s loan limit may double under newly proposed federal legislation carrying strong bipartisan support in Congress and the Chamber of Commerce. It comes alongside a new plan to grant three companies up to $1.1M—a funding opportunity that demonstrates their commitment to shoring-up the manufacturing sector.

“With this new grant, the agency will accelerate the return of American supply chains, production power, and economic independence,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a statement.

“U.S. Pauses Exports of Jet Engine and Chip Technology to China” NEW YORK TIMES (link)

The standoff could have significant implications for companies that depend on foreign technologies, including makers of airplanes, robots, cars and semiconductors.

“US calls out China's unfair trade practices as 28 textile plants shut down” INDIA TIMES (link)

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) noted a growing strain on US producers, with 28 US manufacturing plants having closed over the past 22 months. In 2024, the United States imported USD 79.3 billion worth of apparel, with 21 per cent of that coming from China.

Deere’s Plans for Offsetting $500 Million in Tariff Costs WALL STREET JOURNAL (link)

The Moline, Ill.-based farm equipment manufacturer on May 15 said it incurred about $100 million in tariff expenses in the latest quarter and expects more than $400 million in additional expenses through the end of its fiscal year in October. The company booked $7.1 billion in net income for the year ended last October, down 30% from a year earlier, and roughly $45 billion in net sales, down 19%.

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Datacenters / AI

“Super Micro's AI Growth Hinges On Reshoring Play” YAHOO! FINANCE (link)

Super Micro has been a fixture of Silicon Valley since the early ‘90s, but with costs rising in California they’ve opted to break ground for new facilities in Texas and Mississippi. Known for high-performance servers and management software, Super Micro’s latest move mirrors other firms in the datacenter business—Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple and Oracle to name a few—who are racing to build the capacity needed to support America’s growing AI sector.

“Xi Jinping’s plan to beat America at AI” THE ECONOMIST (link)

The CCP believes prioritizing the application of AI in manufacturing is a surer path to victory than focusing on Large Language Models such as AI chatbots. Their goal is to dominate in heavy industries and beat the West—and their regional competition in South Korea (THE DIPLOMAT)—or they risk losing their status as “workshop of the world”. America is still the leading innovator in AI, but the pace of our deployment in manufacturing is sluggish relative to China. With that in mind, Silicon Valley accelerationism may be the right idea—we can’t afford to let Xi win the race, and “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

“If You Have Any Doubts Over Tesla's Ambitions in Artificial Intelligence (AI), This 1 Word From Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Should Change Your Mind” THE MOTLEY FOOL (link)

xAI’s new Colossus supercomputer, located in Memphis, is positioned to take the firehose of data collected from Grok and Tesla’s Full Self Driving systems—currently handled by another machine dubbed Dojo—and use it to train future models. Completed in only 122 days instead of the projected three years, the build receives high praise from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who calls the achievement “singular”. Huang may be a little biased due to xAI using his company’s processors, but he’s not wrong.

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Supply Chain / Reshoring

“Reshoring report paints ominous look at tariffs, immigration crackdown” PLASTICS MACHINING & MANUFACTURING (link)

“While industries such as primary metals and apparel/household goods show a strong eagerness to reshore within the next three years, others — most notably, automotive — are approaching with more caution, underscoring the reality that reshoring is not a one-size-fits-all strategy but one shaped by the unique pressures and priorities of each sector,” the report says.

“Professor Andy Tsay Examines Reshoring and Global Trade through a Supply Chain Lens” SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY (link)

Inputs, outputs, carrots and sticks. SCU’s Professor Tsay explains the complexities of global trade with an emphasis on reshoring.

The research surveyed 85 companies, identified a specific supply chain location decision made by each, and captured their explicit motivations for location changes. Tsay and his co-authors affirmed that location decisions reflect a consideration of dozens of major factors, not just differences in labor costs. Other factors include proximity to customers, proximity to suppliers, logistics costs, availability of appropriately-skilled labor, infrastructure, regulatory environment, and political stability.

“Hyundai just built a $7.6 billion EV factory in Georgia to compete with Tesla and GM — see inside” BUSINESS INSIDER (link)

Hyundai is the latest carmaker to commit to large-scale manufacturing in the US with a $21 billion investment and a new Metaplant in West Point, Georgia. 90% of the plant’s workforce is hired locally. The facility is packed with the latest manufacturing equipment, including Boston Dynamics robots used for additional quality control checks. [Didn’t realize this was part of the BD offerings — Ed.] Vehicles produced here will represent all of Hyundai Motor Group’s brands, including their EVs and hybrids.

“US Set to Receive Golden Share as Part of US Steel-Nippon Deal” BLOOMBERG (link)

“The control structure is going to be somewhat unique,” McCormick said. “It’ll be a US CEO, a US majority board, and then there’ll be a golden share, which will essentially require US government approval of a number of the board members, and that’ll allow the United States to ensure production levels aren’t cut and things like that.”

“Companies are struggling to fill manufacturing positions, let alone plan for what Trump's administration has in mind” BUSINESS INSIDER (link)

The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte found in an April 2024 report that the manufacturing sector could need as many as 3.8 million net new employees between 2024 and 2033, and that around half of these jobs could remain unfilled if the shortfall in workers with the right skills is not solved.

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MITUSA

Steal his look (by buying products made in the USA).

“Buying 100% Made in America Is Really, Really Hard. These People Are Trying.” WALL STREET JOURNAL (link)

Americans are willing to buy products made in the USA, but have trouble finding them in stores. When they do find what they’re looking for, it’s often at a premium over imported items. Several online shops now specialize in MITUSA, but for retail shoppers who prefer an in-store experience it can become a hunting expedition. Some have even turned it into a hobby.

This is an advertising problem worth solving quickly as more American-made products are added to the shelves.

“Opinion: Manufacturing is thriving in the South. Here’s why neither party can admit it.” THE WASHINGTON POST (link)

Cheap energy, housing, and a relaxed regulatory environment make the South an attractive location for US manufacturers. In Alabama, five of the largest automakers in the country crank out over a million vehicles annually, supported by a network of suppliers in neighboring states. This wouldn’t be possible without their streamlined permitting and tax strategy.

If Rust Belt states want to attract manufacturers and remain competitive, they’ll need to offer similar advantages.

“Made in America: Inovair High-Efficiency Blowers Are the First to Meet BABA Requirements” PRESS RELEASE (link)

Inovair has been recognized by EPA as the first and only manufacturer of high-efficiency blower packages that are fully compliant with the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act.

“Toyota to Sell Seven EV Models in US, Send Surplus Cars Overseas” BLOOMBERG (link)

Toyota Motor North America will begin production of two EV models made entirely in the US. The notoriously slow-moving company took longer than their competition to begin offering non-hybrid EVs. It’s unclear whether that delay was by design, but it may be fortuitous—as EV adoption has gradually increased, other manufacturers have already worked out many of the bugs and charging infrastructure is more robust. Toyota’s EV batteries will come from their plant in Liberty, NC, with vehicles slated for assembly in Kentucky.

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TOOL OR DIE PODCAST

In TOOL OR DIE’s latest episode (link), Bucket Robotics founder and CEO Matt Puchalski (it’s pronounced puh-hall-ski) explains how his company uses machine learning and synthetic data simulation to perform defect-detection on production lines.