Daimler Truck to name largest US truck plant site by Christmas

Daimler Truck North America expects to reveal the location of what will become its largest U.S. manufacturing site before Christmas, with the land purchase now in final negotiations, Daimler Truck CEO Karin Radstrom said Nov. 6.

Speaking to analysts and investors on Daimler Truck's third-quarter 2026 earnings call, Radstrom confirmed the greenfield project remains on its accelerated timeline. Construction is still scheduled to begin by the end of 2026, and the plant is expected to start operations in 2029.

"As you can imagine, there are some negotiations underway, which is why it doesn't make sense to talk about it now, but we will update you once possible, but [DTNA is] very well on track there," Radstrom said during the call.

Pressed on the schedule, she was terse: "We're on track with everything."

What has changed since September?

The timeline has tightened considerably. On Sept. 13, at an event before the IAA Transportation conference in Hannover, Germany, Radstrom told Transport Topics the company had narrowed the hunt to a handful of candidate sites and expected a decision shortly.

"We have a couple of sites, so I hope we make a decision pretty soon," she said at the time.

Her Nov. 6 comments suggest that decision has effectively been made — but the truck maker is holding the location back while land negotiations conclude. That silence is standard practice in site-selection deals: naming a location mid-negotiation can weaken the buyer's leverage on price and incentives.

Why the Southeast is the favorite

DTNA, parent of Freightliner and Western Star, unveiled plans for the facility in early August, promising a fast-tracked timeline on the back of expected demand growth in the United States and Canada.

The company set out its site criteria at the time:

• Access to a stable, efficient supply chain and a skilled workforce
• Transportation and logistics infrastructure
• A favorable business environment
• Alignment with DTNA's long-term manufacturing strategy

The southeastern U.S. — the Carolinas in particular — is the heavy favorite, and for structural reasons. North Carolina has long been DTNA's production nucleus. The Cleveland, N.C., plant is currently the company's largest U.S. manufacturing site, and the Mount Holly facility, open since 1979, and the Gastonia plant are also in the Tar Heel State. Clustering a greenfield site near existing plants shortens component supply lines and widens the pool of trained labor.

One caveat deserves attention: DTNA has not confirmed any location, and until the land purchase closes, an alternative site cannot be ruled out. The company's stated rationale, likewise, is a projection — the demand uplift in the U.S. and Canada is anticipated, not yet realized.

Capacity, not tariffs

The plant announcement also resets the geography of DTNA's North American footprint. Although Cleveland is its largest U.S. site, a majority of the trucks DTNA builds in North America are assembled in Mexico, where it owns two plants. A large new U.S. facility would shift that balance and expand domestic capacity at a moment when tariff exposure makes U.S.-based assembly commercially attractive.

DTNA's leadership, however, explicitly rejects the tariff framing. Speaking to reporters Aug. 6 from Stuttgart after winning Daimler Truck board approval for the plant, DTNA CEO John O'Leary said the plans took years to formulate and form part of long-term ambitions to retain and build market share — not a response to the Trump administration's tariff policies.

"Every time you think of how you run a business, if you stand still, it's kind of like a shark, you die," O'Leary said. "You have to constantly be moving forward."

For shippers and carriers, the practical implications are straightforward. A 2029 production start means new Class 8 capacity is years away, so the announcement offers no near-term relief to freight markets. For suppliers, the likely Carolina location signals where component and logistics demand will concentrate as construction begins by end-2026.

Expect the site's identity before Christmas — assuming the land negotiations Radstrom described close on schedule.