Texas Relocations -- February 11, 2024

Locator: 46780Texas.

On a completely different note, and I'm just going to touch on it briefly, but I think folks that know can connect the dots:

• you can't drill for oil if you can't get rid of natural gas;
• you can't burn / flare natural gas any more;
• if oil drillers want to keep drilling, they need to get rid of their natural gas;
• if they have to, oil drillers will give their natural gas away;
• natural gas is already at historic natural lows;
• Biden puts a pause on new permitting of Texas export LNG facilities
• now, let's see: if natural gas is given away for free, what's the price (cost) spread between natural-generated electricity and wind / solar-generated electricity
• this is not rocket science
• can't wait to watch this play out
• now, read the following: labor source and cheap electricity
• but let's not forget -- natural gas as feedstock ... 
  

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Relocations To Texas

So, what's driving all this? The fog is starting to clear. In order of importance;

• favorable, favorable business / manufacturing climate (compare Texas with California, Portland, and Seattle)
• tax climate
• regulatory climate
• diversity built in
• Hispanics -- goes without saying
• African-American: largest MKL parade in the country in San Antonio, TX
  
• tech centers second to none
• UT-Austin
• Round Rock
• Waco
• UT-Dallas
• regional finance capital
• Dallas
  
• energy: inexhaustible, accessible, affordable
• Biden's export pause only makes things better for Texas manufacturers; natgas producers will give their product away to ensure they can keep drilling oil; if you know, you know;
• climate: warm and getting warmer
• no earthquakes, no major weather disturbances
• central location
• east-west: US
• north-south: Chicago to Mexico City
• transportation
• air
• DFW: #2 airport in the world (passenger volume)
• cargo: Ft Worth Alliance airport
• rail: bullet train? Dallas to Houston?
• highway: best interstate and state highway system in the US
  
• Amazon
• fulfillment centers and hubs
• inexhaustible work force getting larger; willing to work for lower wages: the southern surge, the one Trump wants to stop
• the hard workers will stay in Texas;
• the criminal elements will head for sanctuary cities
• see Trane story below; see Samsung story below. 
  

Link here. And, here.

So, what now?

Two today.

Link here. At the link, scroll down to #7, Hanyang, moving its headquarters from South Korea to Cedar Park, Texas. Wow.

But look at this, Samsung, back on schedule. Link here.

One of the biggest tech companies finally has a new date for when its opening its doors in Central Texas. A Taylor city leader said Samsung Electronics Co.'s semiconductor plant is set to begin operations as early as July 1, according to recent reports.

Construction on Samsung's chip plant was previously reported to be delayed and would not start mass production until 2025. However, Williamson County Judge Bill Gravel told his fellow county commissioners that things are now going according to plan during a meeting this week.

In the meeting, Gravell said he learned of the July 1 start date after talking with the company’s chief financial officer at a recent semiconductor conference in South Korea, KXAN reports. Gravell also added that construction crews have already started pouring the foundation for a second fabrication plant at Samsung's Taylor complex, which would be the single biggest building in the United States once it is complete.

Samsung's $17 billion facility in Taylor is just over 20 miles east of Austin. It was originally expected to be fully operational by the first half of 2024, which the Samsung Foundry President Choi Siyoung addressed the delay during a speech in December 2023, according to the Seoul Economic Daily that Bloomberg cited.

So, what happened. The "southern surge" is bringing in huge number of construction workers into Texas. Trump wants to keep them out.

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And Then This: Cacique Foods

Link here.

From the linked article:

US-based Hispanic products supplier Cacique Foods has ended operations at its California dairy plant, with manufacturing to switch to another site in Texas.

Plant equipment at the closed City of Industry factory in California will be put up for auction in a process to be conducted by dairy asset sales specialist Harry Davis & Company in December.

Founded in 1973 in Monrovia, California, family-owned Cacique produces queso Mexican-style cheeses and dips, sour cream, yogurt drinks, salsa and chorizo under its namesake brand.

The business sold a minority stake in 2021 to Boston-based hedge fund The Baupost Group and this year shifted its headquarters from Monrovia (north of Los Angeles, east of Pasadena) to Irving, Texas (DFW area).

Manufacturing operations from the City of Industry (Los Angeles area) facility will move to the Amarillo plant in Texas, which opened this year.

More here.

So:

• headquarters from beautiful, beautiful southern California, near the Rose Bowl, to DFW; and,
• manufacturing site from City of Industry (think near ground zero for southern California homelessness).

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Meanwhile, Trane

Link here.

But to repeat:

Labor source? The southern surge. The one Trump wants to shut down.