Daimler Truck North America announced plans Thursday to build a manufacturing plant in an unannounced U.S. location to expand production capacity and meet rising demand across North America.
DTNA announced in July that it will move the remaining production of Freightliner and Western Star truck lines away from its Portland, Oregon, manufacturing plant—where Freightliner has built trucks since 1942—to the Carolinas by the end of the year.
Production of the Freightliner Cascadia is currently split between Mexico and the Cleveland Truck Manufacturing Plant in Cleveland, North Carolina. DTNA also operates a manufacturing network across the Carolinas, including facilities in Cleveland, Gastonia, Mount Holly, and High Point, North Carolina, as well as Gaffney, South Carolina.
DTNA President and CEO John O’Leary said on a call with media Thursday afternoon that his company had just today received final approval to move forward on the new site-undisclosed production facility from its Stuttgart, Germany-based parent company.
“Hopefully, that’ll be nailed down in the next couple of months,” Jeff Allen, senior vice president of operations and head of Daimler Truck Specialty Vehicles, said of finalizing site selection.
The facility, wherever it is located, will focus on vocational and on-highway truck production, incorporating flexible assembly systems and automated manufacturing technologies to adapt to changing vehicle configurations.
“It will be the largest manufacturing plant in the U.S. for trucks when all is said and done,” said O’Leary, adding the company is evaluating multiple potential locations, prioritizing sites with access to skilled labor, established supply chains, robust transport infrastructure, and favorable business conditions.
While a final site has not been selected, O’Leary said construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with operations targeted to start in 2029.
Tariffs’ influence on the move
O’Leary noted that while tariffs are part of today’s operating environment and were not ignored in the decision to build a new vehicle manufacturing facility, they were secondary to broader long-term factors. He highlighted that with the facility targeted for completion in late 2029, the investment reflects multi-year planning for market demand, plant modernization, and supply chain resilience rather than current tariff structure.
A slim majority of DTNA trucks are currently produced in Mexico, and O’Leary noted that while the new plant will afford the flexibility to adjust production balance between the U.S. and Mexico, he reiterated the move is not a “tariff thing,” but a strategy to establish a modern cost position, improve delivery performance, and lower total cost of ownership for fleet customers.
“It’s nice to be able to have U.S.-built products, especially these days,” he said. “It will help our situation in that respect. But again, it’s 2029, so who knows what the situation is going to be then? The demand signals right now aren’t driving a plant that’s going to be completed in 2029.”
Portland-based plans
Portland remains a large part of the company’s plans.
While the decision to move production east affects roughly 375 employees, Daimler emphasized that Portland will remain home to its corporate headquarters and a new engineering facility. It framed the move as a strategy to strengthen long-term competitiveness while offering severance and transition support to affected workers.
The company also plans to shift its Reno, Nevada, parts distribution center (PDC) to Portland in 2027, having moved its Phoenix, Arizona, PDC to Las Vegas, Nevada, this year—moves the company said support surging parts sales across the West Coast, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
