Foxconn decision to invest in Wisconsin said to be announced Wednesday evening

Dave here. I’ve been reading the Wisconsin papers as of late. The state is going gaga over the likelihood that Foxconn will build and operate a factory somewhere in the state.

From this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article:

Foxconn Technology Group will make a midweek announcement in Milwaukee that Wisconsin is the company’s choice, or at least its leading choice, for a huge new electronics factory, a source told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday.

And:

A second source separately told the Journal Sentinel that Foxconn would announce its plans for Wisconsin this week, but didn’t know where the announcement would be made.

And:

WISN radio talk show host Mark Belling said an announcement that Wisconsin has been chosen by Foxconn will be made Thursday at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

[See the second update below. Sounds like an announcement is coming tonight]

And from this article:

Foxconn Technology Group’s interest in southeastern Wisconsin, where the Asian electronics manufacturer is considering building a multibillion-dollar industrial campus, underscores an often-overlooked economic advantage for a region burdened with a Rust Belt image:

It has abundant access to water, an increasingly scarce commodity that analysts say is used in prodigious amounts in making the flat-panel displays that the new plant would likely produce.

Racine County and Kenosha County are nestled up against the Lake Michigan shoreline and boast a nearly inexhaustible supply of fresh water, at a time when parts of California, Arizona and Nevada as well as China, India, Singapore and Brazil have been forced to resort to water-use restrictions.

And from this USA Today article:

Monday evening, a private jet linked to Foxconn CEO Terry Gou flew from Santa Ana, Calif., to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., according to the FlightAware.com tracking website. The Gulfstream 650 is the same aircraft that landed in Milwaukee and Madison this month.

All signs do seem to point to a new Foxconn plant in Wisconsin. Could future iPhones, or at least their displays, be built in the US?

UPDATE: Fantastic Bloomberg Decrypted podcast episode dedicated to discussing the details of bringing jobs (like iPhone related manufacturing) to the US, and the types of jobs that go along with that sort of move. Hint: it’s mostly robots. [H/T Robert Davey]

UPDATE 2: According to CNBC:

Apple-supplier Foxconn will announce a plant in Wisconsin on Wednesday evening, accompanied by President Donald Trump, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a source with knowledge of the announcement told CNBC.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will also be present at the announcement in Washington, a source said. No exact location for plant has been chosen — but southeast Wisconsin is under consideration, according to a source.