Graphic courtesy of General Motors
General Motors Corp. has announced plans to invest $4 billion connected with facility assembly assignments at three of its United States manufacturing plants.
The three plants receiving 2027- and 2028-model year assembly assignments are in Kansas City, Kansas; Orion Township, Michigan (about 35 miles north of Detroit); and Spring Hill, Tennessee.
The assembly of the passenger vehicles at the three locations could be good news for recyclers in those regions. Assembly plants themselves can generate recyclable metal, old corrugated containers (OCC) and plastic film, while increased activity at nearby components plants would add to the potential stream of recyclables.
In Michigan, GM will begin production of gasoline-powered full-size sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and light-duty pickup trucks at the Orion plant in early 2027 to help meet what it calls continued strong demand.
Also in Michigan, GM says its Factory Zero along the Detroit-Hamtramck border will be the dedicated assembly location for the Chevrolet Silverado electric vehicle (EV), GMC Sierra EV, Cadillac Escalade IQ, and GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV.
In Kansas City at the GM Fairfax Assembly plant, production of the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Equinox will begin in mid-2027. GM says sales of the recently redesigned Equinox were up by more than 30 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of this year.
The Fairfax plant also remains on track to begin building the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV by the end of this year, according to GM, which expects to make new future investments in Kansas City “for GM’s next generation of affordable EVs.”
At the GM Spring Hill Manufacturing facility in Tennessee, GM will add production of the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Blazer starting in 2027, while assembly of the Cadillac Lyriq and Visitiq EVs and the Cadillac XT5 will remain.
A report from CNBC indicates two of the models—the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Blazer and Chevrolet Equinox—currently are being produced in Mexico.
“We believe the future of transportation will be driven by American innovation and manufacturing expertise,” GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra says. “Today’s announcement demonstrates our ongoing commitment to build vehicles in the U.S and to support American jobs.”
The decision means GM will have the ability to assemble more than 2 million vehicles per year in the U.S. in upcoming model years, the automaker says.
The announcement follows one from late May concerning GM’s plan to invest $888 million in the Tonawanda Propulsion plant near Buffalo, New York, to support a new iteration of GM’s V-8 engine.
President Donald Trump has stated one of the main motivations for his widespread tariff regimen is to boost the amount of manufacturing taking place within U.S. borders.
In May, among the companies announcing sizable metals-related manufacturing investments in the U.S. have been ammunition producer CBC Global Ammunition and Williams International, a maker of aircraft engine components..
The small caliber-ammunition production heading to Oklahoma can yield recyclable metals including brass, lead and steel, while at the proposed Williams plant in Florida, engine components that contain stainless steel alloys and titanium will be produced.
Earlier this week, the Sarasota, Florida-based Reshoring Initiative released an annual report reviewing such activity in the U.S. in 2024. The organization measures announced job creation it considers related to bringing manufacturing capacity back to America.
According to the group, 244,000 such jobs were announced in 2024, and 1.7 million such jobs have been filled since 2010.
In the June news release announcing its 2024 recap report, the Reshoring Initiative says such activity has slowed so far this year.
“Early 2025 data projects a potential drop to 174,000 announced jobs for the year,” according to the organization. "That figure could climb rapidly if firms gain confidence in the permanence of new tariff and industrial policies.”
Regarding risks in the current environment, the Reshoring Initiative says policy uncertainty is delaying investment decisions and that potential retaliatory tariffs could dampen U.S. export opportunities.
As of this year, the group says low-tech industries remain under-reshored, leaving U.S. supply chains vulnerable for mass-market consumer goods.