We're seeing a resurgence in manufacturing in the United States right now, and the best part is - yes, I'm going to be blatantly partisan here - it's happening mostly in red states. This time, it's Texas, where automotive giant Toyota is looking to engage in a $2 billion expansion to their San Antonio manufacturing plant.
Toyota is calling this "Project Orca."
- The Toyota Motor Corp. submitted an application on Friday to expand its San Antonio manufacturing campus by building a new $2 billion facility, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
- The pending plans, dubbed Project Orca, would implement a new complete vehicle assembly line and create 2,000 jobs with an average salary of more than $88,000 per year.
- If approved, construction would begin in 2026 and continue over four years, initially costing Toyota $682.5 million. The facility would open in 2028, starting with 320 employees, and would become operational in 2030.
That's good news, and we should remember that there's a lot more to this than just the added jobs when the expansion is finished. It's the jobs, albeit temporary, in the construction of the facility. Earthmoving, building the structure, wiring, plumbing, landscaping, installing equipment, and installing and validating automated line equipment; standing up a facility like this takes a lot of people, and most of them are skilled workers.
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The San Antonio Express-News has more:
Toyota hasn’t said what the new plant will produce, but some in the industry are speculating it could be the midsize Tacoma pickup, which was produced in San Antonio from 2010 through 2021, when the company moved production to its Guanajuato plant in Mexico to make room for the Sequoia.
Company spokeswoman Melinda Higgins Louden wouldn’t say whether the expansion is for a new type of vehicle or one already in production.
“Our production philosophy is to build where we sell and buy where we build,” she said in a statement. “We regularly evaluate our manufacturing footprint to ensure we remain competitive and aligned with customer demand.”
Selling pickup trucks in Texas seems like a pretty safe bet. And it is, at least, a possibility that this new facility will bring the manufacturing of the popular Tacoma pickups back to the United States from Mexico. That won't make those Mexican workers happy, but we might remind them that there is a legal process for entering the United States, and it's possible that (if this is indeed what will be done with this new facility), Toyota might be willing to sponsor some of the skilled operators from the Guanajuato plant.
Or, Toyota may choose to hire American workers.
In any case, this is good for San Antonio, for Texas, and for American workers. We've been seeing a fair number of manufacturers moving back to the United States, onshoring production, onshoring the jobs, onshoring the economic activity. If this new facility indeed starts making the Tacoma, then there's another great example.
And, no, we're not tired of winning yet.
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