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More Memory-Chip Manufacturing; U.S. Oil Gushes as Prices Plunge By Liz Young | WSJ Logistics Report

The largest U.S. maker of memory chips is rushing to add manufacturing capacity to avert the biggest supply crunch the memory industry has seen in more than 40 years.

The WSJ's Robbie Whelan writes that Micron Technology is spending $200 billion to expand its ability to make the tiny slices of silicon that store and transfer data

and help power everything from smartphones to data centers.

Demand for memory chips is outpacing capacity as large language models become more complex and companies such as OpenAI, Oracle and Anthropic spend trillions of dollars building data centers. Processors designed by companies including Nvidia, Google, Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices require more and faster memory chips for both training the models and responding to users' queries.

Micron executives say buyers are seeking out multiyear purchasing contracts to ensure supply and avoid dramatic price increases.

To meet the demand, Micron is spending $50 billion to more than double the size of its 450-acre campus in Boise, Idaho, including building two new chip factories. The company just broke ground in Syracuse, N.Y., on a $100 billion fab complex and is planning a $9.6 billion fab investment in Hiroshima, Japan.

India's Adani Group, an energy and logistics giant, will invest $100 billion to develop large-scale data centers

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Commodities

America's oil patch has weathered the lowest crude prices in years and kept pumping.

The WSJ's Benoît Morenne reports that as U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel in recent months, the industry shed rigs by the dozens and laid off crews that frack wells . Yet the country's wells last year gushed a record 13.6 million barrels of crude on average each day, 100,000 barrels more than the Energy Information Administration had anticipated before President Trump's inauguration.

Executives attribute the soaring production in part to new technology and engineering advancements as well as the changing makeup of the industry. Oil giants have a bigger share of crude production in their hands and are largely immune to price swings, ensuring a steady output. The companies also now routinely drill wells that extend over 4 miles and allow them to collect more crude at a lower cost.

Still, the latest growth spurt might be short-lived as some analysts say production is set to plateau.

Japan is planning roughly $36 billion in U.S. investments spanning critical minerals, oil and gas infrastructure

and power generation. (WSJ) Number of the Day Manufacturing

Bootmaker Lucchese, known as the "Ferrari of boots," is navigating the tension between artisanal craftsmanship and the demands of a global fashion boom. A WSJ Video goes inside the company's factory in El Paso, Texas .

In Other News

Factory activity in New York grew at a slower pace

this month than in January. (WSJ)

Ireland's exports to the U.S. surged in 2025

despite higher tariffs. (WSJ)

Genuine Parts, an owner of NAPA auto-care centers, plans to separate

its auto and industrial parts units to create two separate public companies. (WSJ)

The EU opened an investigation

into e-commerce company Shein over concerns about illegal products sold online. (WSJ)

General Mills lowered its sales and profit outlook for the fiscal year . (WSJ)

India's Coast Guard seized three tankers

sanctioned by the U.S. that it says were involved in illicit ship-to-ship transfers. (WSJ)

Workers at Israel's ZIM Integrated Shipping Services stepped up a strike

to press for job security guarantees after Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said it would buy ZIM. (Reuters)

Amazon pulled the plug on one of its newest warehouse robots . (Business Insider)

Werner Enterprises is restructuring its one-way truckload business . (Trucking Dive)

An earlier Lunar New Year increased global air cargo demand

by 7% in January compared with 2025, according to Xeneta. (Supply Chain Dive)

About Us

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at [mark.long@wsj.com].

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long , Liz Young and Paul Berger .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 18, 2026 07:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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