Why I Built American Factory Tracker
Hi, I’m Dora C. Winters, founder of American Factory Tracker.
For a long time, much of what I heard about American manufacturing focused on what had been lost: factories closed, communities hollowed out, and production moved overseas. Then I began noticing a different kind of story—major investments in new factories and expansions across the country. I became fascinated by the scale of this new industrial activity and wanted to understand what was actually happening on the ground.
The deeper I looked, the more complicated the picture became. Many of the projects I was reading about were still in planning or under construction rather than operational, and the information was scattered across company releases, government announcements, and local reporting. I couldn’t find one clear place to follow these projects from announcement to operation and see the larger picture across industries and states, so I decided to build it.
What began as a way to organize this scattered information has grown into an interactive industrial intelligence platform. I wanted people—especially younger visitors—to be able to explore the information rather than simply read statistics on a page. At the same time, AFT had to be rigorous enough for professionals who need to trust the numbers. Every project is evaluated under AFT’s published methodology and verified using primary public sources before it is added to the database.
You can begin with a state, open an individual factory project, and move between the company behind it and the industry it belongs to, making the connections easier to see. As I built it, I found this kind of interactive exploration fun and oddly satisfying.
American Factory Tracker is designed as a living resource, continuously expanded and refined as new projects are verified and new information becomes available.
My mission is to build the nation’s most trusted public database of industrial development—tracking where major factory projects are announced, built, and brought online, which companies are investing, and how America’s manufacturing footprint is changing over time.
Thank you for visiting American Factory Tracker. I hope you’ll explore the database, follow the projects that interest you, and join me as this living record of America’s industrial future continues to grow.
Meet Rivet
AFT’s Diligent Data Scout
Rivet is the official mascot of American Factory Tracker—always watching for new factory announcements, expansions, project updates, and changes in status.
He represents the monitoring system AFT is building to scan public sources and help identify developments for review. Every project published in the database is evaluated against AFT’s methodology and verified through reliable public sources by its human editor.
You’ll also see Rivet reporting for duty across AFT’s social channels, where he’ll help introduce new projects, industry updates, and milestones in America’s industrial buildout.
What we count
American Factory Tracker documents major U.S. manufacturing facilities and expansions announced on or after January 1, 2018. A project is included only when it meets all three standards:
- Material scale. At least $100 million in facility-specific capital investment or at least 100 announced net-new permanent manufacturing jobs.
- Primary-source verification. A company announcement, government release, SEC filing, regulatory document, or comparable primary public source must support the project. Secondary reporting may provide useful context, but it does not replace primary-source verification.
- Physical U.S. manufacturing footprint. The project must involve a physical manufacturing or qualifying industrial-production facility located in one of the 50 U.S. states.
The or is deliberate. It captures highly capital-intensive factories that may create relatively few jobs as well as labor-intensive projects whose investment is smaller or not publicly disclosed. In modern, increasingly automated manufacturing, 100 permanent jobs can still represent a major facility and a meaningful regional economic commitment.
Permanent Manufacturing Jobs Announced counts net-new, direct, permanent positions publicly tied to a qualifying manufacturing facility or expansion—including production, engineering, scientific and laboratory, quality, skilled trades, automation, management, operations and on-site supply-chain roles. It excludes construction, temporary, indirect, induced, retained and outside-supplier jobs. Figures reflect publicly announced commitments and do not represent positions already filled or guaranteed.
When investment is not publicly disclosed
Some qualifying manufacturers announce permanent employment without releasing a facility-specific investment amount. AFT includes these projects only when they independently meet the 100-job threshold and labels the investment “Not publicly disclosed.”
Undisclosed investment does not mean zero. It is excluded from AFT’s disclosed-investment totals, and AFT does not estimate or assign an unsupported value.
Corrections & Updates: Project information may change after publication. Companies, agencies, and readers may submit documented corrections through AFT's listed contact method. AFT reviews credible supporting documentation and updates records when warranted.
What we don't count
- Temporary construction jobs
- Indirect, induced, supplier, retained, relocated, or transferred jobs
- Companywide or multi-facility investment commitments that cannot be attributed to an individual project
- Corporate headquarters or office relocations without manufacturing
- Research-and-development-only facilities
- Distribution centers or warehouses without manufacturing activity
- Projects announced before January 1, 2018
- Projects that fall below both inclusion thresholds
- Publicly cancelled projects are excluded from active totals. Documented scope reductions may remain noted on the applicable project record.
Sectors we track
Robotics & Automation covers qualifying U.S. facilities that manufacture industrial robots, humanoid robots, warehouse robotics, automation systems, and related robotic equipment. Warehouses that merely use robots are not classified in this sector.
Industrial Machinery & Equipment covers qualifying U.S. factories producing machinery and industrial equipment used in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, mining, material handling, and infrastructure. Automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, robotics, and electrical-grid equipment remain in their dedicated AFT sectors.
Food & Beverage covers qualifying U.S. facilities that manufacture, process, bottle, package, or otherwise transform food, ingredients, or drinks, including dairy plants, meat processing, packaged snacks, beverage co-packing, agricultural processing, and bakeries. Restaurants do not qualify.
Paper & Packaging covers qualifying U.S. mills and factories that manufacture paper, pulp, recycled paper, containerboard, tissue, corrugated sheets and boxes, paperboard, cartons, and other fiber-based packaging products. Printing-only facilities, recycling collection without manufacturing, plastic-only packaging plants, and forestry are excluded.
Advanced Manufacturing covers qualifying U.S. production facilities whose technologies or products do not fit a dedicated AFT industry category. It is a focused residual category, not a catch-all, and is reviewed as AFT’s taxonomy expands. Projects involving robotics, industrial machinery, or another established AFT sector are classified there.
Current database coverage
Every U.S. state is reviewed under the same editorial standards. States with at least one qualifying project appear in the database; states without a qualifying public announcement are listed separately for transparency and reconsidered during each editorial update.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
States listed without a qualifying project had no identified public announcement meeting AFT’s $100 million or 100-job threshold since January 1, 2018. They remain part of AFT’s continuing review.
Why some states have more projects than others
Major manufacturing investment tends to cluster where infrastructure, power capacity, workforce availability, established supply chains, and economic-development policies support large industrial projects.
- Semiconductors have clustered in Arizona, Ohio, New York, Texas, and Idaho, supported by CHIPS Act incentives, available land, and electrical capacity.
- Battery and EV manufacturing has expanded across Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, and Indiana, forming what has become known as America's Battery Belt.
- Steel, energy, and other heavy industries remain concentrated in states such as Louisiana, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Alabama, where energy resources, transportation infrastructure, and industrial supply chains already exist.
State totals reflect qualifying projects AFT has verified from public announcements. A lower count does not mean a state lacks manufacturing; it may reflect fewer large new projects or less public disclosure.
Help strengthen the tracker
Know of a qualifying industrial project we’re missing, or have new information about one we track? Send a short note with a link to the public source. We welcome tips from companies, economic-development organizations, journalists, researchers, and readers.
For partnerships, sponsorships, data licensing, media inquiries, and other opportunities, contact Dora C. Winters.