US tariffs prompt JCB to revise plans
With isolationist president Donald Trump seeking to restrict imports into the USA, JCB’s response is to build more components and machines in the country rather than ship them from Britain – which is exactly the impact that tariffs are meant to have.
JCB has been manufacturing in the USA for 50 years, and last year bought 400 acres of land in San Antonio after recognising the need increase production in North America. The company’s existing plant in Savannah, Georgia, has operated for 25 years and employs around 1,000 people.
The original plan for a 500,000 square feet factory in San Antonio, Texas, has now been revised and JCB is now doubling its size to a million square feet. The new $500m plant is due to start production next year and employ up to 1,500 people.
The San Antonio factory will make Loadall telescopic handlers, JCB’s biggest selling product in North America.
JCB chairman Anthony Bamford said: “JCB has been in business for 80 years this year and we are well accustomed to change. The United States is the largest market for construction equipment in the world and President Trump has galvanised us into evaluating how we can make even more products in the USA, which has been an important market for JCB since we sold our first machine there in 1964.”
JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald said: “In the short term, the imposition of tariffs will have a significant impact on our business. However, in the medium term, our planned factory in San Antonio will help to mitigate the impact. We are thankful that the tariff is only 10% and we can only hope that the UK government will conclude negotiations on a trade deal in the coming days and weeks.”
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