Rising electricity demand from data centers is driving up power costs for manufacturers in the U.S. Rust Belt, squeezing profit margins and undermining President Donald Trump’s “Made in America” initiative.
An analysis shows factory electricity bills are climbing faster than those of other customers, with Ohio’s Belden Brick Company seeing its monthly charge jump from $1,600 to $12,000. The Steel Manufacturers Association warns that steel companies in the PJM Interconnection region face tens of millions of dollars in extra annual costs, as electricity makes up 20–40% of steel production expenses.
This comes as Trump has simultaneously championed the tech companies fueling the AI data center boom.
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