American Factory Decade
whopaulhugh@whopaulhugh
−3.3%
since Oct 8
The idea
I believe US manufacturing is in the middle of a decade-long comeback, with a first wave of chip and battery plants now giving way to a second wave across other industries. To play that, I hold a broad set of builders: factory automation and electrical gear for plants that can't find workers, the distributors who supply parts and maintenance once factories are running, plant builders themselves, and domestic steel and materials.
What it owns
- Distributors supply parts and consumables to running plants year after year across all industries. · FastenalIt operates supply rooms and vending machines inside factories, so each new plant becomes a steady buyer of fasteners and consumables., W.W. GraingerIt supplies maintenance and repair parts that running plants buy continually throughout their operating life., Applied Industrial TechnologiesIt sells bearings and power transmission parts that wear out and get replaced in operating factories., WESCO InternationalIt distributes wire, cable and electrical gear for installation in new plants, then supplies them with ongoing materials., MSC Industrial DirectIt supplies cutting tools and shop equipment to machine shops that feed parts into larger manufacturing operations.23%
- US plants facing worker shortages are adopting robots, controls and machine vision to fill the gap. · Rockwell AutomationIt sells the controls that run automated factory lines, which plants short on workers rely on heavily., Emerson ElectricIt automates process plants and earns recurring revenue from software and service over their lifetime., Parker-HannifinIt makes the motion and fluid components that nearly every factory machine contains, then sells replacement parts for decades., TeradyneIt owns Universal Robots and MiR, which make collaborative robots that address factory worker shortages directly., CognexIt sells machine vision cameras and software that automated factories use to inspect and sort parts.22%
- Engineering and construction firms win contracts when new factories are designed and built. · EMCOR GroupIt performs the electrical and mechanical work inside new plants, then services them for years afterward., Comfort Systems USAIt installs heating, cooling and clean air systems that factories need, especially pharma and chip plants., Jacobs SolutionsIt designs and engineers plants before construction starts, so its work picks up early in a building wave., Fluor CorporationIt builds large, complex industrial projects of the scale that pharma, chemical and chip plants require.19%
- New and upgraded plants need switchgear, wiring and power equipment, with spending repeating through each expansion cycle. · EatonIt makes the switchgear and power equipment that brings electricity into every new plant., HubbellIt makes electrical components and utility gear that both new factories and upgraded grids require., nVent ElectricIt makes enclosures, connectors and cooling systems that protect electrical infrastructure in plants and data centers.15%
- Tariffs protect US steel and aggregates while new plants and infrastructure require large volumes of both. · NucorIt is the largest US steelmaker, benefiting from tariffs that keep imported steel costly while new plants demand structural steel., Vulcan MaterialsIt sells crushed stone and gravel that every plant and foundation requires, with shipping costs limiting its market to local areas., Steel DynamicsIt makes steel and aluminum in the US, both protected by tariffs and heavily used in factory construction.13%
- Cash8%