The AI Revolution: Production for Data Centers Boosted Caterpillar and Ford
High demand for data centers has given a strong boost to the manufacturing sector in the USA. Traditional industrial companies like Caterpillar and Ford are actively expanding their operations in this field.
High demand for data centers has given a strong boost to the manufacturing sector in the USA, as traditional industrial companies like Caterpillar and Ford Motor are expanding into this field — this was reported by The Wall Street Journal. Last month, manufacturing sector activity climbed at the fastest pace since 2022, when the recovery from COVID-19 created high demand in factories. Today, data centers and industries related to AI (artificial intelligence) are leading the sector.
At Caterpillar, a manufacturer of bulldozers, tractors, and road construction equipment, the production of power generators has become the leading source of profit, and the company invested 725 million dollars in expanding production at a plant in Indiana. Caterpillar also converted another plant in Kansas to produce turbine engines, which are popular among data centers, and is renewing the production of 10-megawatt generators.
"If we can, we will supply additional units, they are asking us for more and more," said CEO Joe Creed.
Engine manufacturer Cummins is investing 450 million dollars in expanding generator production, and the company estimates that sales to data centers will jump by 80% over the next four years. At Ford, they turned to data centers to compensate for the decline in demand for electric cars, and the company intends to invest 2 billion dollars in repurposing batteries from electric vehicles for data centers.
