U.S. Manufacturers Maintain Capital-Spending Expectations, but Implore Congress to Avoid Tax Increases

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. manufacturers' capital-spending expectations over the next 12 months remain flat compared with last month's reading, based on the latest outlook survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), although respondents said tax reform set to expire next year could limit capital investment.

The NAM survey ran from May 14 to June 3 and received 217 responses, featuring small (those with 49 or less employees), medium-sized (between 50 and 499 employees) and large manufacturers (500 or more employees).

According to the survey results, released June 26, respondents to the survey anticipate an increase of 1.3% in capital spending over the next 12 months--compared with 1.4% last quarter and 1.2% in the third quarter; 37.3% expect additional capital spending in the next year, with 48.1% predicting no change and 14.5% expecting reduced capital expenditures.

But the Biden administration's tax increases on manufacturers scheduled to go in effect in 2025 could affect capital investment, after many of the tax benefits included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire. According to the summary of findings, "nearly 94% of respondents agree that Congress should act before the end of 2025 to prevent scheduled tax increases on manufacturers. In addition to the already expired immediate expensing of R&D [research and development], pro-growth interest deductibility standard for business loans and 100% full expensing for capital purchases, tax policies critical to the manufacturing sector such as the 20% pass-through deduction, individual tax rates and estate tax exemption threshold will expire or become less favorable at the end of 2025."

In addition, 73% of respondents expect limited capital investment opportunities if Congress does not act to prevent tax increases.

Still, Industrial Info is tracking more than $360 billion worth of Industrial Manufacturing Industry projects under construction in the U.S. Many of the high-dollar projects are attributed to semiconductors, transportation and electric vehicles (EVs) and related components, but Industrial Info also is tracking projects across a variety of other manufacturing sectors.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for a full list of project reports.

The automotive projects include the construction of a roughly $500 million lithium ion battery-manufacturing plant near Jeffersonville, Ohio for a battery joint venture between Honda Motor Company (NYSE:HMC) (Tokyo, Japan) and LG Energy Solution (Seoul, South Korea) that will produce batteries for Honda's North American operations producing EVs. The plant is designed to produce 40 gigawatt-hours' worth of lithium-ion battery cells per year. The project is expected to wrap up by the end of the year, and the joint venture expects mass production will begin by the end of 2025. Subscribers can click here to read the detailed project report.

Among the data center projects under construction, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) leads all companies in terms of investment value. The company's spend is buoyed by a major grassroot project.

Microsoft is at work on a $3.3 billion grassroot data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, which entails constructing two 370,000-square-foot data center buildings, to provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the region. The project is expected to wrap up by the end of 2026. Learn more from the project report.

The construction of semiconductor-manufacturing plants and data centers is on the rise, both domestically and across the globe. David Pickering, IIR's vice president for the Industrial Manufacturing Industry, recently led a discussion on the two sectors in a recent webinar. For more information, see Industrial Info's June 27, 2024, article - IIR Webinar: Rapid Growth in Data Center & Semiconductor Sectors Brings Strong Spending, New Challenges.

In terms of heavy-manufacturing projects under construction, Form Energy Incorporated (Somerville, Massachusetts) is constructing a $760 million iron-air battery plant at the site of a former steel mill in Weirton, West Virginia. According to Form Energy and news media, iron-air batteries are much lower cost than lithium-ion batteries and can store and release energy for days, compared with the faster discharge rate of more expensive lithium-ion batteries. Iron-air batteries are more suitable for large undertakings such as energy storage at renewable energy facilities than for lighter-weight needs such as vehicles and laptops. The project, which began last year, involves renovating existing buildings as well as constructing a new 800,000-square-foot building. The plant is expected to begin operations in 2025. Click here for more details on the project.

Meanwhile, activity in the distribution and warehousing sector is led by e-commerce giant Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington), which includes the construction of a $200 million grassroot robotics fulfillment and distribution center in Shreveport, Louisiana. The project is expected to wrap up by the end of the year. Click here to read the project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).