Daimler Truck North America announced plans this week to build a new U.S. manufacturing plant that company executives say will become the largest truck manufacturing facility in the country once complete. A specific site has not yet been selected, but construction is scheduled to begin in late 2026, with production targeted to start in 2029.
DTNA President and CEO John O'Leary said the company received final approval from its Stuttgart, Germany-based parent to move forward on the project. Jeff Allen, senior vice president of operations and head of Daimler Truck Specialty Vehicles, said the facility is projected to provide thousands of jobs and will focus on both vocational and on-highway commercial vehicle production using flexible, automated assembly systems.
The announcement follows DTNA's decision in July to shift remaining Freightliner and Western Star production away from its longtime Portland, Oregon, plant, where Freightliner has built trucks since 1942, to facilities in the Carolinas by the end of the year. The company's existing manufacturing network in that region includes plants in Cleveland, Gastonia, Mount Holly and High Point, North Carolina, along with Gaffney, South Carolina.
O'Leary said tariffs were a factor in the broader operating environment but were secondary to long-term planning around plant modernization and supply chain resilience. He noted the new facility will give DTNA more flexibility to shift production balance between the U.S. and Mexico, where a slim majority of the company's trucks are currently built.
Portland will retain DTNA's corporate headquarters and gain a new engineering facility. The company said roughly 375 employees are affected by the production shift and will be offered severance and transition support.
Source: Commercial Carrier Journal -- https://www.ccjdigital.com/trucks/article/15831835/daimler-truck-north-america-announces-new-us-manufacturing-facility