Trump-o-Nomics: Daimler's New Truck Plant

When a country makes it VERY desirable to manufacture in that country, it happens.

 

One of the largest truck manufacturing plants in the U.S. does not have an address yet. It instead has a supervisory board signature, with construction to start in late 2026. The headcount is projected in the thousands.

Daimler Truck North America said Thursday that Daimler Truck’s supervisory board approved plans for a new greenfield facility in the U.S. It’s purpose-built for vocational and on-highway vehicle production. Construction is expected to begin late this year, with operations targeted for 2029. The company is still evaluating locations and will not name one....

No doubt Tony Evers is pursuing this./sarc.

Daimler already has a number of plants in the US (and Mexico, and Europe.)  So why build a new, large, truck-making plant in the USA?  Watch the Daimler guy dance, weave, and wobble:

 ...A majority of DTNA’s assembly runs through Mexico today. The new plant aims to change that ratio.

“When it is completed, it would definitely give us the ability to flex back and forth and improve that percentage in the U.S.,” O’Leary said. “It’s no mystery to anybody that at this point in time the majority of our build is in Mexico, although it’s not a giant majority, but still some majority, and that’s fine. However, as you know, it’s also nice to be able to have U.S.-built products as well, especially these days.”

Asked whether tariffs drove the decision, O’Leary pointed at the calendar instead.

“But again, it’s 2029, so who knows what the situation is going to be,” he said. “Again, it’s not really about the tariff thing at all. It’s far more about we want to have the best, most modern plants out there because we know that will ultimately give us the best cost position, which ultimately is a huge part of the TCO equation, which is something that every customer that we sell to takes very seriously.”...

 Uh-huh.

That's how tariffs work, whether he admits it or not.