Read CMTA’s round-up of manufacturing news from August 2026. The articles below don’t necessarily reflect the views of the manufacturing industry or CMTA. They are a collection of the latest industry news from this past month.
Latest Industry News
Governor Launches “Made in California” Campaign as Manufacturers Push for a Veto
Governor Newsom launched a “Made in California” campaign, encouraging consumers to buy state-made products. The news comes as SB 954 awaits the Governor’s signature, a bill CMTA and manufacturing advocates say would roll back CEQA streamlining passed just last year for advanced manufacturing projects.
“Consumers can only buy Californian if manufacturers can build in California,” CMTA President & CEO Lance Hastings said in a statement.
Read more from The Sacramento Bee
Heron Power to Build $100 Million Factory in Morgan Hill
Power electronics manufacturer Heron Power selected Morgan Hill as the site of its first large-scale factory, converting a former distribution warehouse into an advanced manufacturing facility expected to create more than 600 jobs.
The project, supported in part by a $26.4 million California Competes tax credit, will produce grid technology aimed at meeting growing demand from AI and EV infrastructure.
Read more from Silicon Valley Business Journal
Cal EPIC Opens New Innovation Hub in Sacramento
Cal EPIC, a CMTA member supporting clean energy and mobility manufacturing, opened its 33,000-square-foot innovation hub for research, manufacturing, and training for electric vehicles and sustainable technologies in Sacramento.
Part of the center includes the Capital Charge Yard, an electric vehicle charging testing and interoperability lab for manufacturers.
Read more from Sacramento Business Journal
JPL Engineers Extend Voyager 2’s Interstellar Mission
Engineers at CMTA member NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena completed a power-saving fix nicknamed the “Big Bang” on Voyager 2, extending the nearly 50-year-old spacecraft’s ability to keep collecting data from interstellar space by at least another year.
The team plans to perform the same fix on Voyager 1, a continued testament to the precision engineering coming out of California’s aerospace sector.
State Awards $48.5 Million to Boost Advanced Manufacturing
Governor Newsom announced $48.5 million in California Jobs First funding across 18 projects statewide, including $17.75 million to strengthen advanced manufacturing and supply chains in the Central San Joaquin and Capital regions, and $8.2 million to support the Bay Area’s shipbuilding network.
The investments are expected to create 20,000 jobs statewide.
Read more from the Office of Governor Newsom
Trimac Expands Food-Grade Logistics Capabilities in Central Valley
Trimac Transportation acquired California Freight, a Ripon-based bulk logistics provider serving the Central Valley’s dairy, wine, and food and beverage sectors.
The acquisition adds eight trucking terminals and more than 400,000 square feet of food-grade warehousing across California and Nevada, expanding logistics capacity for the region’s food and beverage manufacturers.
Read more from Trimac Transportation
SpaceX Launches Classified Space Force Mission from California’s Central Coast
SpaceX launched a classified U.S. Space Force mission aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County on Aug. 15. Southern California residents could see a rocket streak across the sky and hear sonic booms.
This marks the latest in a busy stretch of launches from the state’s aerospace manufacturing and defense industry.
Manufacturing Policy News
CMTA Weighs In on U.S.-Canada Trade Tensions
Trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada have escalated, with the U.S. now enforcing 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian goods. Canada is set to retaliate with tariffs on more than 700 American products starting Sept. 8.
CMTA President & CEO Lance Hastings told KCRA that California manufacturers are caught in the crossfire, as Canada is the state’s second-largest export market.
A Year After Their Promise, Lawmakers Again Reform Environmental Planning
SB 954, which narrows a CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing passed last year, cleared the Legislature and now awaits Governor Newsom’s signature.
CMTA, Bay Area Council, and other business groups say the late amendments did not address industry concerns, calling the bill’s zoning and air quality requirements unworkable and warning they could push manufacturing investment out of state.
SB 54 Packaging Costs Face Scrutiny
More than two dozen state lawmakers asked legislative leaders to delay fees under SB 54—California’s plastic packaging reduction law—citing cost concerns for producers and consumers, though the request did not gain traction.
Industry groups say the price tag could run tens of billions higher than projected, adding cost pressure on manufacturers already facing the law’s 2032 deadline.