(Bloomberg) — Micron Technology Inc. said it plans to invest as much as $100 billion over the next 20 years to build a factory in upstate New York to boost US production of memory chips.
The announcement on Tuesday represents the largest private investment in New York state history, Boise, Idaho-based Micron said. The company said the first phase investment of $20 billion, in Clay, New York, is planned by the end of this decade and that it will be the largest semiconductor facility built in the US. The chips will supply mobile devices, data centers and electric vehicles.
The New York site, which will generate about 50,000 jobs in the state, including about 9,000 high-paying Micron positions, adds to the company’s previously announced manufacturing facility in Boise. In return, the company said it expects to get $5.5 billion in incentives from the state of New York over the course of the project.
“As the first upstate governor in 100 years, this was a personal quest and failure was not an option,” said Governor Kathy Hochul at an event commemorating the announcement held at Syracuse University, which is near the proposed factory site. “We’re doing this for generations to come.”
The so-called megafab chip factory complex is part of Micron’s strategy to increase DRAM production to 40% of the company’s global output over the next decade.
CHIPS Act
Micron’s commitment comes after the US government passed the CHIPS and Science Act in August, providing $52 billion to boost domestic semiconductor research and development. The bill is at the center of the Biden administration’s effort to reduce dependence on Asian suppliers like Taiwan and South Korea, whose homegrown companies are leading the market, and to address supply-chain disruptions and resulting price hikes for certain goods containing semiconductors.
The bill’s signing spurred US chip companies to plan billions of dollars in new investments. For example, Qualcomm Inc. is partnering with GlobalFoundries Inc., which also has a facility in New York state, in a $4.2 billion agreement to manufacture chips.
“We will bring these jobs back to our shores and end our dependence on foreign-made chips,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “This massive project will be built with union labor and high-paying jobs.”
Micron Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Mehrotra said he was “deeply appreciative” of President Biden and his administration for making the CHIPS and Science Act a priority.
“Today only 2% of the world’s memory is made here in the US, but we are going to change that,” Mehrotra said, outlining plans to help grow the US market share to 10% of the global supply in the next decade.
Biden, in a statement, called the plant “another win for America” and pledged to build “an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, where we lower costs for our families and make it right here in America.”
New York Investment
Site preparation work for the chip factory will start next year and construction will begin in 2024. Production output will increase in the latter half of the decade, gradually increasing in line with industry demand, according to the statement from Micron.
The site, near Syracuse, New York, could eventually include four 600,000 square foot cleanrooms, accounting for a total of 2.4 million square feet of cleanroom space – the size of about 40 US football fields.
Hochul, in an interview with Bloomberg Television, said the $5.5 billion in state tax incentives wasn’t a “blank check, you know, a hope, a wing and a prayer” and that tax credits would only be doled out after jobs are created.
She said Micron’s investment “telegraphs that New York State is open for business” and will also draw further businesses across the chip supply chain. “This is a wise investment for New York because we’re in competition with every other state in the nation.”
(Updates throughout with comment from Schumer, Hochul)
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
