Manufacturing Facilities Cutting Back, Shutting Down Over High Power Costs

We know that high gas prices are a complex matter, but we also know that the Biden administration has played a key role in rising fuel costs. The price of gas doesn’t just affect Americans at the pump; there are other ripple effects throughout the economy. And we’re starting to see those ripples reach U.S. manufacturing.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that manufacturing plants across the country are scaling back production or shutting down for the long-to-medium term because power costs have gotten so high. And this isn’t some temporary blip on the radar screen. Instead, it has major implications for our economy.

“On June 22, 600 workers at the second-largest aluminum mill in America, accounting for 20% of US supply, learned they were losing their jobs because the plant can’t afford an electricity tab that’s tripled in a matter of months,” write Joe Deaux and Naureen S Malik. “Century Aluminum Co. says it’ll idle the Hawesville, Kentucky, mill for as long as a year, taking out the biggest of its three US sites.”

The report states that the shutdown process takes about a month, and the plant will need another six to nine months to come back online when the company decides it’s time to resume operations. So a year-long shutdown for the plant in reality will take closer to two years. But there’s more. – READ MORE