July 10, 2026 | 3 min read

"The IndustryWeek manufacturing community turned its attention to those topics, as well as USMCA updates, AI in procurement, China's new production strategy and more."

Toyota Shifts Production North

The headline investment comes from Toyota, which plans to invest $3.6 billion in Texas. The automaker will build a second assembly line at its San Antonio factory.

"Toyota plans to build a second assembly line at its San Antonio factory, increasing annual production capacity at the plant by 150,000 units, the company said in a statement."

While the investment is significant, the statement does not specify moving production from Mexico.

Trade Pact Uncertainty

The US will not renew the USMCA in its current form, a decision with direct consequences for integrated supply chains. Patrick Childress of Holland & Knight has outlined where negotiations stand and what proposed changes to the treaty could mean for automotive manufacturers.

"The trade pact decision likely will fuel uncertainty for businesses in North America, given the deep integration across supply chains in sectors like automobiles."

Meanwhile, China's new production strategy is expected to impact US auto exports negatively. The forecast is blunt:

"Expect fewer exports, higher inflation and technical stagnation for 'Fortress America.'"

AI's Pricing Problem — and Its Human One

On the technology front, a pointed argument emerged: manufacturers offering AI services should be charging based on outcomes, not consumption. Without a new pricing model, the case goes, industrial AI adoption will falter.

"Manufacturers offering AI services should be charging based on outcomes, not consumption."

Procurement offers a complementary lesson. The next era of procurement will belong to organizations that build talent capable of translating intelligence into outcomes — the tools matter less than the people interpreting them. Edge AI, meanwhile, is becoming useful for manufacturing, moving the technology closer to the shop floor where latency and connectivity constraints have historically limited deployment. Companies such as Jabil and TE Connectivity remain part of the broader conversation around applied manufacturing technology, including approaches like AI Kaizens.

Workforce and Policy Signals

The labor picture carried its own tensions. UAW members voted to authorize a strike at Woodward MPC in Illinois, with plans announced for a practice picket outside the facility.

On the talent pipeline, one analysis pushed back on a familiar narrative: the US manufacturing workforce is mislabeled rather than missing.

"The interest and aptitude exist. What's missing is the connection between what students are already doing and the industries that desperately need them to do it."

Federal support programs faced their own friction. Late awards for Manufacturing Extension Partnerships rolled in after the Department of Commerce's NIST agency was late in renewing contracts — not the first such delay.

On the continuous improvement beat, hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh continued examining warning signs that lean initiatives are going off the rails, pointing to symptoms within daily management systems — visual boards and leader standard work — alongside shallow problem solving and centralized continuous improvement teams.