lAST月，福特电动机。公司宣布，它将在密歇根州迪尔伯恩市的两家美国制造工厂削减轮班，这两者都生产了该公司最受欢迎的车型F-150皮卡车。

The reason? Too few microchips and semiconductors, which are the nerve center of every new vehicle. Since then, a fire at a Japanese microchip facility has made matters even worse.

微芯片和半导体现在是美国的制造优先事项

英特尔公司（Intel Corp.）宣布了3月23日雄心勃勃的建筑计划，以扩大其现有能力。At the top of the plan was a $20-billion investment in new two new fabrication plants at the company’s Ocotillo campus in Chandler, Ariz. The estimate, announced by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and state officials, is for 3,000 construction jobs and several thousand permanent jobs.

The construction program was part of an overall strategy through which Intel, working with its longtime customer, IBM, will remain at the forefront of technological innovation and processing power.

Exact details of the construction were not yet ready, but Intel is known as a safety and quality-conscious owner. Two recent projects, one in Arizona and the other in Oregon, involve companies now working for Intel which potentially could compete for the new Arizona work.

Among the companies recently or currently involved in the multibillion-dollar projects are CH2M Hill and Jacobs on the engineering and design side and Hoffman Construction and Hensel Phelps Construction on the construction side, according to Dodge Data and Analytics. The recent Arizona project involved interior alterations to the Fab 42 Manufacturing Facility in Chandler. The Oregon project involves expansion of office and manufacturing space in Hillsboro.

Automakers were surprised by strong demand for vehicles that developed despite—and in some cases because of—the pandemic. Demand for microchips also surged during the pandemic as people purchased new electronic equipment.

拜登政府最近将微芯片和半导体制造成为国家目标。英特尔的高管及其两个国内竞争对手，高通和高级微型设备，wrote the president last month urging his support并注意到，美国在1990年的37％下降到了12％。

“Intel’s announcement is a great example of the benefits that come from investing in domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo in a statement. "We can create jobs, strengthen our national security as well as the security and resiliency of our supply chains. And we welcome additional announcements on U.S. manufacturing commitments by other firms as well.”