Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 8 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 8 related plants in PECWeb
Released June 05, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted in May for the second straight month, according to a survey report by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), as demand continues to ease. Still, Industrial Info's project data for the U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Industry remains robust.
The ISM's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), which tracks 18 industry sectors in the U.S., registered 48.7% in May, down from 49.2% in April and 50.3% in March; March's reading indicated the first expansion for U.S. manufacturing activity since September 2022. Any reading under 50% indicates contraction in the manufacturing economy.
In a related summary of findings, Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said the drop in demand was reflected in the New Orders Index's continued contraction, registering 45.4% in May--down from 49.1% in April--which was supported by respondents' comments regarding "softening." He also said the Backlog of Orders Index regressed further into contraction territory, and the Customers' Inventories Index sat at a level that is "neutral for future production."
"Demand remains elusive as companies demonstrate an unwillingness to invest due to current monetary policy and other conditions," Fiore said. "These investments include supplier order commitments, inventory building and capital expenditures. Production execution continued to expand but was essentially flat compared to the previous month."
That sentiment was reflected in comments from respondents in the PMI's respective manufacturing industries. One from Chemical Products said, "seems like a minor slowdown is happening. With less spending in the economy, less pressure on us for our products." Another from Machinery said, "new orders are not coming in as robust as the backlog is going down. Inflation continues to be a problem with pricing of raw material and interest rates. We expect a flat rest of calendar year 2024, especially given that it's a presidential election year."
Despite any headwinds affecting U.S. manufacturing activity and related capital investments, Industrial Info is tracking more than $300 billion worth of U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Industry projects under construction, nearly one-third of which is attributed to the production of semiconductors. Nearly half of the semiconductor project activity is in Arizona, and for more information, see June 4, 2024, article - Semiconductors Dominate Arizona's $71 Billion of Projects Under Construction.
Among the other semiconductor-manufacturing projects is Wolfspeed Incorporated's (NYSE:WOLF) (Durham, North Carolina) first-phase construction of a grassroot plant in Siler City, North Carolina, in Chatham County. The first phase, which is expected to wrap up next year, entails building an approximately 400,000-square-foot facility and installing equipment to increase production of 200-millimeter silicon carbide semiconductor wafers that support electric vehicle (EV) production and other applications
In addition, Wolfspeed's expansion of the semiconductor manufacturing operations at its Durham campus is nearing completion. The project entails relocating differing operations into an existing 253,000-square-foot vacant building, leading to 18 times more manufacturing space. In a recent earnings-related conference call, Wolfspeed executives said they expect the facility to be "largely complete" by the end of 2024, marking the start of production, after powering up the initial furnaces by the end of June. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can read more information on the Chatham County and Durham projects.
The automotive sector also features project activity, with a majority of the projects aimed at producing electric vehicles (EV) and related batteries and other components. This includes Envision AESC's (Japan) $2 billion EV battery-manufacturing gigafactory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which is designed to feature a 3 million-square-foot building to produce at least 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of batteries annually for several auto manufacturers, powering up to 300,000 vehicles per year by 2027. Production is expected to begin in 2025. Click here to read the project report.
Meanwhile, transportation-related projects include a $2.6 billion redevelopment of terminals at the Salt Lake City Airport in Utah. The project entails constructing a 1.7 million-square-foot building consisting of three terminals, 72 gates, a 3,600-space parking garage, and demolishing and constructing supporting utility, service and maintenance facilities to rebuild outdated terminals and increase the airport's passenger capacity. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
In terms of data center projects under construction, roughly 40% of the activity is attributed to four tech giants.
Subscribers to the GMI Database can click here for a look at all of the projects discussed in this article and here for the 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).
The ISM's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), which tracks 18 industry sectors in the U.S., registered 48.7% in May, down from 49.2% in April and 50.3% in March; March's reading indicated the first expansion for U.S. manufacturing activity since September 2022. Any reading under 50% indicates contraction in the manufacturing economy.
In a related summary of findings, Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said the drop in demand was reflected in the New Orders Index's continued contraction, registering 45.4% in May--down from 49.1% in April--which was supported by respondents' comments regarding "softening." He also said the Backlog of Orders Index regressed further into contraction territory, and the Customers' Inventories Index sat at a level that is "neutral for future production."
"Demand remains elusive as companies demonstrate an unwillingness to invest due to current monetary policy and other conditions," Fiore said. "These investments include supplier order commitments, inventory building and capital expenditures. Production execution continued to expand but was essentially flat compared to the previous month."
That sentiment was reflected in comments from respondents in the PMI's respective manufacturing industries. One from Chemical Products said, "seems like a minor slowdown is happening. With less spending in the economy, less pressure on us for our products." Another from Machinery said, "new orders are not coming in as robust as the backlog is going down. Inflation continues to be a problem with pricing of raw material and interest rates. We expect a flat rest of calendar year 2024, especially given that it's a presidential election year."
Despite any headwinds affecting U.S. manufacturing activity and related capital investments, Industrial Info is tracking more than $300 billion worth of U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Industry projects under construction, nearly one-third of which is attributed to the production of semiconductors. Nearly half of the semiconductor project activity is in Arizona, and for more information, see June 4, 2024, article - Semiconductors Dominate Arizona's $71 Billion of Projects Under Construction.
Among the other semiconductor-manufacturing projects is Wolfspeed Incorporated's (NYSE:WOLF) (Durham, North Carolina) first-phase construction of a grassroot plant in Siler City, North Carolina, in Chatham County. The first phase, which is expected to wrap up next year, entails building an approximately 400,000-square-foot facility and installing equipment to increase production of 200-millimeter silicon carbide semiconductor wafers that support electric vehicle (EV) production and other applications
In addition, Wolfspeed's expansion of the semiconductor manufacturing operations at its Durham campus is nearing completion. The project entails relocating differing operations into an existing 253,000-square-foot vacant building, leading to 18 times more manufacturing space. In a recent earnings-related conference call, Wolfspeed executives said they expect the facility to be "largely complete" by the end of 2024, marking the start of production, after powering up the initial furnaces by the end of June. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can read more information on the Chatham County and Durham projects.
The automotive sector also features project activity, with a majority of the projects aimed at producing electric vehicles (EV) and related batteries and other components. This includes Envision AESC's (Japan) $2 billion EV battery-manufacturing gigafactory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which is designed to feature a 3 million-square-foot building to produce at least 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of batteries annually for several auto manufacturers, powering up to 300,000 vehicles per year by 2027. Production is expected to begin in 2025. Click here to read the project report.
Meanwhile, transportation-related projects include a $2.6 billion redevelopment of terminals at the Salt Lake City Airport in Utah. The project entails constructing a 1.7 million-square-foot building consisting of three terminals, 72 gates, a 3,600-space parking garage, and demolishing and constructing supporting utility, service and maintenance facilities to rebuild outdated terminals and increase the airport's passenger capacity. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
In terms of data center projects under construction, roughly 40% of the activity is attributed to four tech giants.
- Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms Incorporated (NASDAQ:META) (Menlo Park, California) expects a $750 million expansion of its Huntsville Data Center in Alabama, which entails adding three new buildings, will wrap up in late July (see project report.)
- Google parent Alphabet Incorporated (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (Mountain View, California) expects a $600 million expansion of its Pryor Data Center in Oklahoma will wrap around the end of the year (see project report.)
- Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) is at work on a Phase II expansion of its East Wenatchee Data Center Campus in Washington. The $400 million project, which is expected to be completed next year, entails constructing a 244,000-square-foot data center building to support Microsoft's Azure cloud platform (see project report.)
- Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington) is building out a grassroot data center in Springfield, Virginia, which includes demolishing two vacant office buildings and constructing a 240,000-square-foot data center and an adjoining 55,000-square-foot generator yard. The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company (Baltimore, Maryland) is providing general contracting services for the project, which is expected wrap up by the end of the year. Click here for the project report.
Subscribers to the GMI Database can click here for a look at all of the projects discussed in this article and here for the 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).
