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LGC’s cliffhanger on American Titanium

Local Government Commission members narrowly supported giving a proposed titanium factory near Fayetteville access to $250 million in tax-exempt bond financing. The project already has a state incentives package. DaleThree commission members, including outgoing State Treasurer Dale Folwell, voted against the authorization for the so-called Project Aero on Tuesday. It...

By Ray Gronberg

November 13, 2024

Hybrid and BEV market thrives

Given its importance to North Carolina chipmakers like Wolfspeed, it’s worth checking in on how well the EV market is doing. And the answer seems to be … not bad. Analysts with industry watchdog Urban Science say electric vehicles of varying sorts account for about 21.4% of the U.S. market...

By Ray Gronberg

November 8, 2024

Wolfspeed announces job cuts as red ink continues

Durham-based chipmaker Wolfspeed announced that it’s cutting staff in the face of “current market conditions” and the impending closure of a wafer production line at its Durham factory. The move will “result in an additional 10% of roles being eliminated across the global organization,” on top of a 10% reduction...

By Ray Gronberg

November 8, 2024

DOT timetable on Helene damage

While the N.C. Department of Transportation is going to move heaven and literal earth to get Western North Carolina’s road network rebuilt, it might take it as much a decade to close the books on Hurricane Helene. That’s the word from Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, who told the agency’s oversight...

By Ray Gronberg

November 7, 2024

S&P offers a forecast for the car industry

Chipmakers like IQE and Wolfspeed that are hoping to make money supplying the EV industry — and the car industry in general — might be in for a bumpy ride over the next couple years no matter who wins the election. S&P Global Mobility said it sees automakers and suppliers...

By Ray Gronberg

November 6, 2024

Chips and incentives

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the Greensboro semiconductor business lately, partly because of the wait for something called Project Electro. The waiting is over after Gov. Roy Cooper announced that IQE will expand its operations in the Gate City with help from state- and local-government incentives. IQE is...

By Ray Gronberg

November 6, 2024

More Nukes for NC?

In its approval of Duke Energy’s new Carolinas Resource Plan, the N.C. Utilities Commission tossed an unexpected lifeline to the idea of building more large nuclear reactors to serve the region. The commission order includes a directive to Duke to report back by the end of this coming March on...

By Ray Gronberg

November 5, 2024

Volkswagens by any other name

North Carolina auto dealers, through their trade group, are eyeing Volkswagen’s plan to launch a new line of EVs and sell them direct to the consumer. For the moment, though, the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association is keeping its powder dry. “We’re looking at various options,” said John Policastro, the group’s...

By Ray Gronberg

November 1, 2024

Buncombe lowers lodging-tax revenue forecast

Buncombe County expects lodging tax revenue of $24.2 million for fiscal 2025, $10.1 million lower than previously forecast, according to the Explore Asheville tourism promotion group. The 29.4% reduction reflects the impact of Hurricane Helene, and that “before the storm, merchants and business owners were already reporting weakened sales,” the...

By Ray Gronberg

November 1, 2024

Greensboro chipmaker Qorvo reports loss

Greensboro chipmaker Qorvo says it’s considering selling part of its business and is transferring a production line from its North Carolina factory, hoping to reduce its manufacturing and operating expenses. Qorvo executives announced the moves during their quarterly earnings call this week. The company said it lost $17 million after...

By Ray Gronberg

October 31, 2024

Hands across the sea

Shigeo Yamada, Japan’s ambassador to the United States, says the two nations’ relationship is stronger than ever. Yamada was a keynote speaker on Tuesday at the 46th Annual Southeast U.S./Japan Conference, which was held in Charlotte and attracted more than 500 people from seven Southern states and the Asian nation....

By Ray Gronberg

October 30, 2024

Clawback lawsuit survives Pactiv’s dismissal bid

The state’s attempt to recover the $12 million in incentives it paid Pactiv Evergreen to operate the now-closed Canton paper mill remains alive, thanks to a ruling from a Wake County trial judge. Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley on Oct. 21 rejected Pactiv’s motion to have the state’s clawback lawsuit...

By Ray Gronberg

October 29, 2024

Money for Helene-related road repairs still pending

Aid for the N.C. Department of Transportation’s road-restoration efforts in western North Carolina was conspicuous by its absence from the General Assembly’s $604.2 million second-round package of hurricane relief funding. That’s not because road-reconstruction needs are small, or that legislators are unaware of or unsympathetic to the need. To the...

By Ray Gronberg

October 29, 2024

Railroad upgrades

The N.C. Railroad is getting $105.6 million from the federal government to fund seven upgrades in the Triangle and the Triad along its rail corridor, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office says. State officials are matching the federal grant with $34 million from the N.C. Department of Transportation. The Norfolk Southern Corp....

By Ray Gronberg

October 29, 2024

Local incentives for Google data-center expansion

Google may invest $600 million to expand its Caldwell County data center and add as many as 30 jobs after local officials agreed to an incentives deal this week. My boss Dave Mildenberg reports that Google’s proposed expansion is on about 60 acres adjacent to its Lenoir campus, which opened...

By Ray Gronberg

October 25, 2024

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