Correction: This article has been updated to clarify that China is behind 60% of the reshored manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
Dive Brief:
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Construction crews have broken ground on South Korea–based LG Electronics' 1-million-square-foot washing machine factory in Clarksville, TN, according to Commercial Property Executive.
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The facility will be able to produce a new machine every 10 seconds and shift between models in less than four minutes. Company officials said the 310-acre site has room for future expansion.
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The factory will be operational by early 2019 and it is expected to create 600 permanent jobs upon completion. The company won state incentives in exchange for infrastructure improvements around the factory site, job training and hiring veterans.
Dive Insight:
International companies are looking to the U.S. ahead of expected import tariffs from the Trump administration. That has seen recent deals in Wisconsin, North Carolina and Georgia, in addition to Tennessee.
Another factor pushing both American and foreign companies to bring manufacturing capacity to the U.S. is that maintaining operations overseas isn't quite the deal it used to be. The offshore manufacturing industry has given birth to a more sophisticated and higher-earning workforce, reducing the once-wide margins for the companies that make products there.
One of those countries, China, has been behind 60% of the manufacturing jobs that have been brought back to the U.S. between 2010 and 2016, according to the Reshoring Initiative, which supports local goods production.
Canada, too, has invested in the U.S. and its workforce. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced earlier this month that Irving Consumer Products, a major Canadian paper products manufacturer, will spend $400 million on a Macon, GA, tissue factory. State officials said the project will generate up to 540 construction positions at peak activity, as well as 200 permanent jobs.
