Tuesday, March 28, 2017

#TrumpSpring: Ford announces yuge Michigan plant investment

Detroit "Pure Michigan" billboard
Trump Spring is here. Bigly.

From the Detroit Free Press:
Ford Motor Co. will invest $1.2 billion in three Michigan facilities to prepare for production of the all-new Ford Ranger and Bronco, and to support the company's expansion into mobility.

The company said Tuesday it will invest $850 million to retool its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne for truck and SUV production; $150 million in its Romeo Engine Plant to expand capacity for several vehicles; and $200 million to build a data center at the company's Flat Rock Assembly Plant. Ford announced in January the Flat Rock facility also would see a $700 million investment and 700 new jobs to support the production of electrified and autonomous vehicles.

Ford said the Romeo investment will "create or retain" 130 jobs. The company on Tuesday did not say how many jobs would be added as a result of the other two investments. The investments simultaneously support Ford's strong truck and SUV segments, and the company's push to cover multiple "mobility" fields through autonomous vehicle fleets and ride-sharing services.

The announcement came as President Donald Trump pushes U.S. and foreign automakers to build factories and add jobs in the U.S. Ford has announced $1.9 billion in investments in Michigan in the past three months, though roughly half of that amount has been planned since 2015.
Cynics, Democrats mostly and their protectors in the media, will pounce on that last paragraph, claiming that some of this expansion would have happened even if Trump hadn't won in November. Maybe.

The expansion involves trucks and SUVs--and Trump's vow to review stringent Obama-era miles-per-gallon regulations makes these vehicles more attractive to Ford. By reviewing them, of course that very likely means Trump will be scaling them back. Such a move on MPG standards would have been less likely under a Clinton presidency.
So yes, Trump can rightly claim credit for this expansion.

Related post:

#TrumpSpring: GM announces $1B in investments, 1K new jobs

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