Toyota Investing in American Manufacturing

Toyota has expanded significantly since the company first opened in 1937. Much of this expansion has taken place in the United States, giving the American manufacturing industry a much-needed boost. In 2013, the company committed to additional expansion in the southern United States, and the president and CEO of the company's North American engineering and manufacturing division recently purchased a home in Michigan. These are very positive signs for the future of the American manufacturing industry.

Jeffrey N. Ross of AutoBlog reports that the company will be investing $200 million to increase production capacity at plants located in the southern United States. Most of the money will be used to expand the manufacturer's plant in Huntsville, Ala. This plant produces engines for twelve of the vehicles produced in the United States. The rest of the money will be used to expand casting plants in Tennessee and Missouri. This $200-million investment is in addition to the $2 billion the automaker previously spent on American manufacturing expansion. In 2012, the manufacturer spent $80 million on the engine plant.

Although the auto manufacturer has not opened a new plant in Michigan, the president and CEO of the North American manufacturing division recently purchased a home in the state. Osamu Nagata said he plans to increase the amount of influence American designers and engineers have on future vehicles produced by his company. Nagata also said he plans to become more involved with the auto manufacturing industry in the United States. He says he wants to have conversations with government officials, industrial leaders, and members of the media.

Some consumers think of this auto manufacturer as exclusively a Japanese company, but executives have made a commitment to expanding the company in the United States. Thousands of people have jobs thanks to this expansion, so the manufacturer is just as much of an American manufacturing company as it is a Japanese company. The automaker has four different manufacturing locations in the United States. These facilities are located in Texas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Mississippi. The company also has design centers located in California, North Carolina, and Michigan.

Additionally, thousands of people are employed by the companies that supply the automaker with the parts it needs to produce cars, trucks, and sport-utility vehicles. Washington, California, Utah, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York are just some of the states where American manufacturing companies produce much-needed automotive parts. This is a good example of how the automaker's expansion will have a positive effect on the economy of the United States.

Toyota is one of the world's top-ranked auto manufacturers, so its success is a good thing for American workers and consumers. Continued expansion of the company will go a long way toward improving the state of the American manufacturing industry and creating new jobs. The expansion will also have positive short-term and long-term effects on the economy.

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