When you’re on top, the best way to stay there is by building and building bigger the biggest. At least that’s the case with Daimler Truck North America (DTNA). The company is set to build a new manufacturing facility in the U.S. to help retain its top spot as the top truck OEM in the North American market. The facility will be the largest truck manufacturing plant in the U.S. upon completion.

“We've got several plants that are doing a great job for us, but we also are a growing company,” DTNA President and CEO John O’Leary said on a call with industry media. “Our share has been very strong. We’re the largest in the U.S., and we want to get bigger.”

O’Leary stressed that the motivation behind this new construction all boils down to the ability to better deliver for their customers, ensure supply chain resilience, and complement DTNA’s existing manufacturing network. While questions were asked about tariff impacts, O’Leary stated that tariffs did not heavily impact the decision to bring truck manufacturing stateside, citing that several other factors were “far more important” than tariffs.

What to expect from DTNA’s new facility

A new plant is required to put the latest technology and innovation at DTNA's fingertips, according to O’Leary, as gutting an existing plant and reconfiguring it with new technology would be “difficult,” he said. Instead, DTNA will work from a blank sheet of paper to build a facility designed with the future in mind. 

The new facility will accommodate a “digital backbone” that DTNA will build its future around. This includes “advanced production technologies and flexible manufacturing systems that will support future innovation, quality, efficiency, and operational resilience,” according to a DTNA press release.

“We want to have the best, most modern plants out there because we know that will ultimately give us the best cost position, which ultimately is a huge part of the TCO equation, which is something that every customer that we sell to takes very seriously,” O’Leary said.

The facility will also be outfitted with all-new equipment, which will contribute to a safer manufacturing process while ensuring higher-quality products and more efficiently, Jeff Allen, DTNA SVP of operations, said on the call. 

Ultimately, Allen’s goal for the new facility is efficiency, and in a market that operates on peaks and troughs, freight recessions and high demand, and pendulum swings from electric powertrains to traditional engines, having an efficient manufacturing facility also requires flexibility. The ability to build autonomous chassis and electric chassis alongside traditionally powered medium- and heavy-duty trucks in this new facility was mentioned explicitly. 

“We are absolutely designing the plant for the utmost in flexibility for what the future might bring,” Allen said on the call. 

When to expect the DTNA new manufacturing facility

While DTNA did not indicate that they were homing in on a specific location to build the plant, O’Leary suggested the location would be strategically located in favor of DTNA’s supply chain and logistics needs.

Multiple sites are being considered, O’Leary said, and DTNA expects to have a “shovel in the ground” by the end of the year. Production at the facility is expected by the end of 2029, he said, in which case we can expect the facility’s construction to be completed within the same year.