Biden Administration Working to Increase Semiconductor Manufacturing Capacity in US to Speed up Supply Chain

A representative from CaseIH told us last week at the National Farm Machinery Show regarding new tractors and ag equipment, “So, mid to late Q4, most of this product is going to be available for us then. So, for that end-of-year buyer, we’ve got product coming back in.”

The lack of current ag equipment availability stems from persistent supply chain issues here in the United States. One big holdup in the supply chain is the availability of semiconductors, or computer chips, on which this equipment, and many other products, rely.

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves told Michigan Ag Today that President Biden is urging Congress to pass legislation that would help bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States, and he thinks they’re close to doing that.

“We expect that it’s a matter of weeks, not months, for us to get the legislation done in what’s called reconciliation where the House and the Senate work together to hammer out their differences so we can get the legislation to the president’s desk. And then we can make these necessary investments to shore up our semiconductor supply chain, to invest in the resiliency of our supply chain across the country.”

Just last month, Intel announced a new $20 billion factory outside Columbus, Ohio that could bring upwards of 10,000 jobs and expand US chip manufacturing capacity.

“If we can get this legislation to the president’s desk, or rather I should say when we get it to the president’s desk, Intel has said that they expect that to grow from a $20 billion investment to a $100 billion investment. So, it’s not just the 10,000 jobs that are going to come in Ohio and Indiana and Michigan as a result, we expect that number to grow significantly once we get the legislation passed.”

Graves discusses this further along with port congestion and other items impacting the supply chain in the full MAT interview below.