John Deere Fights Rumor of U.S. Pause with $20B Factory Investment Pledge - Modern Distribution Management

John Deere Fights Rumor of U.S. Pause with $20B Factory Investment Pledge

The agricultural equipment gave a bold response to a report of a company U.S. production shutdown.
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Agriculture equipment manufacturer John Deere sternly stamped out a report that it was shutting down U.S. production in response to tariffs by announcing the opposite.

In early June, an MSN.com report titled “John Deere Freezes U.S. Manufacturing in Unprecedented Shutdown” claimed that the company was “making a radical move that some might think is ‘un-American.’”

But John Deere negated that on June 6 with posts on its blog and LinkedIn page saying bluntly that it is not shutting down U.S. manufacturing, and is rather making a massive commitment to it.

Deere’s blog shared that it is investing $20 billion into U.S. production over the next 10 years in what the company says is a powerful signal of its long-term commitment to domestic production and expansion.

“Our commitment to delivering value for our customers includes ongoing investment in advanced products, solutions, and manufacturing capabilities,” Deere Chairman and CEO John May said in the blog post. “Over the next decade, we will continue to make significant investments in our core U.S. market. This underscores our dedication to innovation and growth while staying cost-competitive in a global market.”

The MSN.com piece was taken down shortly after.

Go Deeper

Deere actually announced the investment several weeks earlier at the time its 2Q25 financial report was released, but reiterated it in response to the MSN piece.

The company detailed figures about its recent and planned U.S. investments, which include $100 million invested in U.S. factories in 2025 in 60 facilities across 16 states and noted that the vast majority of the steel used in its plants is domestically sourced. 

In May, the company broke ground on a $13.5 million, 120,000-square-foot expansion to its Strafford, MI remanufacturing facility, and other upcoming projects include a new excavator factory in Kernersville, NC; plant expansion in Greeneville, TN; and new tractor assembly lines at its plant in Waterloo, IA.

For its fiscal 2024 that ended Oct. 31 of last year, Deere’s sales sunk 16% annually and profit fell 30%. That hasn’t improved in 2025, as fiscal first half (ended April 27) sales fell 22% from a year earlier and profit fell 35%.

According to the MDM Forecast (as of mid-May), U.S. wholesale distributors of agricultural products saw overall 2024 revenue fall 10.9% in 2023 and 12.1% in 2024. We’re forecasting a modest 0.5% dip in 2025, followed by robust growth of 8.5% in 2026.

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