This week, Apple CEO Tim Cook and former President Donald Trump made joint news about an equally exciting – and long-term – initiative. Apple will make an estimated additional $100 billion in U.S. spending over the next 4 years, largely using U.S. suppliers. After all, this announcement reinforces Apple’s earlier commitments and adoption of fair labor practices, and highlights its continued commitment to strengthening the American economy.
The new investment plan includes a hefty $2.5 billion for expanding Corning. This composite technology firm has its headquarters in Louisville, KY. This funding aims to enhance Corning’s production capabilities for iPhone screens, which will further entrench Apple’s manufacturing presence in the United States.
In 2021, Apple unveiled its most ambitious plan yet in a pledge to invest $430 billion over five years. That adds up to roughly $86 billion annually! The new announcement increases Apple’s total investment pledge to a staggering $600 billion over the next four years. That adds up to a jaw-dropping $125 billion annually! This latest announcement represents a stunning increase from Apple’s initial 2018 commitment. At the time, they only committed to $350 billion over five years — about $70 billion per year.
Cook emphasized the importance of these investments during the announcement, stating, “President Trump shared some kind words about that work, but he asked us to think about what more we could commit to doing.” This sentiment isn’t just a character reflection; it speaks to Apple’s recent vehicle debut, answering calls for increased domestic manufacturing and investment.
Apple’s initiatives extend beyond just Corning. The company’s long term plans include producing the wireless charging technology in New York in partnership with industry heavyweight GlobalFoundries. Simultaneously, they’re slated to build AI servers, which they’re doing at a factory in Texas. In addition, Apple will use U.S.-made wafers from GlobalWafers and chips from Texas Instruments, upping its own domestic supply chain ante.
This year, Apple projects its U.S. supply chain will produce more than 19 billion chips for use in its products. The company is preparing for a new huge production run. In 2017, the company announced plans to set up a $1 billion manufacturing pipeline. This fund was designed to lock in future purchase orders with U.S. manufacturers.
Apple is working with Corning and other suppliers to get more involved in local manufacturing. Further, the company has committed to build $10 billion worth of data centers in North Carolina, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Iowa. As much as these data centers promise to do that for Apple’s operational infrastructure, they will create jobs and help stabilize local economies.
Trump’s statements on the Apple investments’ wider implications show a strong, bullish, optimistic American manufacturing future. He noted, “There are a lot of factories and a lot of plants that are either under construction or soon we’ll be starting construction.” As this statement clearly acknowledges, all of the new wind in U.S. manufacturing sails come from major corporate investments.
Apple has announced several other initiatives to strengthen its U.S. manufacturing. Agreements struck under this commitment will help foreign manufacturers to purchase additional American-made components. This strategy continues the advancing narrative of moving manufacturing processes back to America. Attractive Opportunity Many industries have jumped on the reshoring bandwagon in recent years.