Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 5 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 4 related plants in PECWeb
Released September 24, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. manufacturers' capital-spending expectations are up slightly from last quarter, according to a quarterly survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), although the respondents continue to express concerns regarding trade uncertainties and policy.
The NAM survey ran from August 14 to August 29 and received 241 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 summary of findings, released September 16, respondents anticipate an increase of 1% in capital spending over the next 12 months--compared with 0.3%, 1.6%, 0.7%, and 1.3% in the four previous quarters, respectively; however, large firms expect just 0.1% growth. Overall, 36.1% expect additional capital spending in the next year--which is roughly flat from last quarter--with 42.4% predicting no change and 21.4% expecting reduced capital expenditures (which is up from 17.7% reported last quarter).
Although the capital-spending expectations didn't jump as much as in some past quarters, the survey found 65% of respondents reported a positive outlook for their companies, a 10-percentage point-increase from last quarter.
Respondents cited "trade uncertainties" such as tariffs and trade negotiations as their top business challenge for the third straight quarter (78.2%), followed by increased raw material costs for the second straight quarter (68.1%); 85.4% of large manufacturers cited trade uncertainties as their top challenge.
Nearly 90% expect raw material prices and other input costs to increase over the next year. Aside from the second quarter, "manufacturers anticipate the highest rate of growth (3.7%) in prices on their company's overall product line since Q3 2022 when inflation was still more than 8%. Of those surveyed, nearly 83% said that changes to trade policy this year have increased compliance costs."
Respondents also indicated urgency around permitting reform legislation. "Given the increasing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) for manufacturing operations and the need to maintain an affordable, reliable power grid, nearly 8 in 10 manufacturers (79.2%) support President Trump's announcement of permitting reforms to streamline project development for AI and related energy, grid and manufacturing projects. Specifically, 96% support the buildout of energy generation, infrastructure and products."
Nearly 80% of manufacturers support the Trump administration working with Congress to build on the AI Action Plan, which the White House announced in July. According to a fact sheet, key policies in the plan include "expediting and modernizing permits for data centers and semiconductor fabs."
Industrial Info is tracking a wide variety of active and planned capital U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Industry projects, but the buildout of data centers leads the charge.
This includes two of Meta Platforms Incorporated's (Menlo Park, California) multibillion-dollar, multi-gigawatt (GW) campuses specifically designed to meet the company's AI goals, dubbed "Titan" data centers.
Construction of the final fourth and fifth buildings at its Project Prometheus in Ohio, which is the first "Titan" campus, is underway, with the campus set to come online in 2026. Subscribers can read more information on the Building 4 and 5 expansions.
Another planned "Titan" campus (Project Hyperion in Louisiana) also is underway, albeit with a longer timeline; but it has the potential to scale up to 5 GW--which would make it Meta's largest data center campus. Subscribers can click here for project details.
Manufacturers producing electrification equipment also are getting in on capital investment. Earlier this month, ABB Limited (Zurich, Switzerland) announced plans to invest an additional $110 million in the U.S. in 2025. "Demand is being driven by key trends, from the surging power needs of AI in data centers, to grid modernization and customers improving energy efficiency and uptime to reduce their costs," said Morten Wierod, ABB's chief executive officer, in a press release.
This includes $15 million at its plant in Senatobia, Mississippi, to create a new production line for its Emax 3 air circuit breaker. The Emax 3 "improves the energy security and resilience of power systems in large facilities with high power demands, including data centers, advanced manufacturing sites, and airports." The new line is expected to begin production in 2026.
Meanwhile, ABB said a roughly $30 million project will double the footprint of its facility in Richmond, Virginia by adding a new test center, warehouse and new assembly lines. The facility creates products for data centers, manufacturing plants and utilities "to protect critical systems in essential operations and services," such as servers and production lines, from electrical failures. The new operation will open in the fourth quarter.
Subscribers can read more information on the Mississippi and Virginia projects.
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).
The NAM survey ran from August 14 to August 29 and received 241 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 summary of findings, released September 16, respondents anticipate an increase of 1% in capital spending over the next 12 months--compared with 0.3%, 1.6%, 0.7%, and 1.3% in the four previous quarters, respectively; however, large firms expect just 0.1% growth. Overall, 36.1% expect additional capital spending in the next year--which is roughly flat from last quarter--with 42.4% predicting no change and 21.4% expecting reduced capital expenditures (which is up from 17.7% reported last quarter).
Although the capital-spending expectations didn't jump as much as in some past quarters, the survey found 65% of respondents reported a positive outlook for their companies, a 10-percentage point-increase from last quarter.
Respondents cited "trade uncertainties" such as tariffs and trade negotiations as their top business challenge for the third straight quarter (78.2%), followed by increased raw material costs for the second straight quarter (68.1%); 85.4% of large manufacturers cited trade uncertainties as their top challenge.
Nearly 90% expect raw material prices and other input costs to increase over the next year. Aside from the second quarter, "manufacturers anticipate the highest rate of growth (3.7%) in prices on their company's overall product line since Q3 2022 when inflation was still more than 8%. Of those surveyed, nearly 83% said that changes to trade policy this year have increased compliance costs."
Respondents also indicated urgency around permitting reform legislation. "Given the increasing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) for manufacturing operations and the need to maintain an affordable, reliable power grid, nearly 8 in 10 manufacturers (79.2%) support President Trump's announcement of permitting reforms to streamline project development for AI and related energy, grid and manufacturing projects. Specifically, 96% support the buildout of energy generation, infrastructure and products."
Nearly 80% of manufacturers support the Trump administration working with Congress to build on the AI Action Plan, which the White House announced in July. According to a fact sheet, key policies in the plan include "expediting and modernizing permits for data centers and semiconductor fabs."
Industrial Info is tracking a wide variety of active and planned capital U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Industry projects, but the buildout of data centers leads the charge.
This includes two of Meta Platforms Incorporated's (Menlo Park, California) multibillion-dollar, multi-gigawatt (GW) campuses specifically designed to meet the company's AI goals, dubbed "Titan" data centers.
Construction of the final fourth and fifth buildings at its Project Prometheus in Ohio, which is the first "Titan" campus, is underway, with the campus set to come online in 2026. Subscribers can read more information on the Building 4 and 5 expansions.
Another planned "Titan" campus (Project Hyperion in Louisiana) also is underway, albeit with a longer timeline; but it has the potential to scale up to 5 GW--which would make it Meta's largest data center campus. Subscribers can click here for project details.
Manufacturers producing electrification equipment also are getting in on capital investment. Earlier this month, ABB Limited (Zurich, Switzerland) announced plans to invest an additional $110 million in the U.S. in 2025. "Demand is being driven by key trends, from the surging power needs of AI in data centers, to grid modernization and customers improving energy efficiency and uptime to reduce their costs," said Morten Wierod, ABB's chief executive officer, in a press release.
This includes $15 million at its plant in Senatobia, Mississippi, to create a new production line for its Emax 3 air circuit breaker. The Emax 3 "improves the energy security and resilience of power systems in large facilities with high power demands, including data centers, advanced manufacturing sites, and airports." The new line is expected to begin production in 2026.
Meanwhile, ABB said a roughly $30 million project will double the footprint of its facility in Richmond, Virginia by adding a new test center, warehouse and new assembly lines. The facility creates products for data centers, manufacturing plants and utilities "to protect critical systems in essential operations and services," such as servers and production lines, from electrical failures. The new operation will open in the fourth quarter.
Subscribers can read more information on the Mississippi and Virginia projects.
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).
