In January, Intel announced that it will invest $20 billion in a new microchip manufacturing facility near Columbus, OH. The fab is expected to create 3,000 company jobs, 7,000 construction jobs, and tens of thousands of additional jobs for suppliers and partners. Construction is expected to begin this year, with production coming online at the end of 2025. The Ohio facility will be in addition to the company’s plans, announced last year, to build two new factories in Arizona.
None of those projects will immediately alleviate the current shortage of microchips that has plagued U.S. manufacturers of cars, appliances and other products for the past year, but it should bolster the domestic supply chain in the future. The U.S. share of the worldwide chip manufacturing market has declined from 37 percent in 1990 to just 12 percent today, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. That’s not good. Improving domestic production of microchips isn’t just important for making pickups and dishwashers, it’s also vital for national defense.