Beyond the rare earth hype – America’s real supply chain test

According to Fortune, General Motors has been making concrete moves to rebuild domestic supply chains through multiple strategic partnerships. The automaker is working with MP Materials to create a complete mine-to-magnet rare earth supply chain and investing in Lithium Americas’ Nevada lithium project. They’re also collaborating with Global Foundries on domestic semiconductor production. Since 2020, GM has invested over $60 billion and employs nearly 90,000 U.S. workers. These efforts support everything from vehicles to renewable energy, robotics, and AI data centers. The pandemic revealed critical supply chain vulnerabilities that make these robust solutions essential for American competitiveness.

The scaling discipline problem

Here’s the thing everyone’s missing: launching projects is easy, but scaling them is where America keeps failing. We get excited about announcements and funding waves, but then reality hits. Permitting drags on forever, infrastructure lags behind construction, and workforce development never quite catches up with demand. It’s like we’re great at throwing parties but terrible at maintaining the relationships. The result? Lots of excitement but not enough actual national capacity to compete globally.

GM’s four-pillar approach

Basically, GM is betting on four key strategies that could actually work if executed properly. First, they’re pushing for bankable volume through multi-year purchase agreements tied to actual products, not just vague commitments. Second, they want to streamline processes by overlapping environmental reviews, site prep, and equipment procurement. Third, they’re building complete supply chains rather than isolated links – from mining to refining to manufacturing. And fourth, they’re tackling workforce readiness by working with universities and technical schools to train people before plants even open.

Why this matters beyond cars

Look, this isn’t just about building better cars. The same supply chains that power electric vehicles also support grid storage, defense equipment, and advanced technology. The nation that masters these supply chains will basically control the future of multiple critical industries. But here’s my question: can American companies and government actually coordinate well enough to make this happen? We’ve seen so many manufacturing initiatives fizzle out over the decades. The pandemic was a wake-up call, but are we really awake yet?

The real test ahead

So what’s different this time? GM seems to be putting real money and concrete partnerships behind their words. $60 billion since 2020 isn’t pocket change, and their specific partnerships with mining, magnet manufacturing, and semiconductor companies show they’re thinking about the entire ecosystem. But the proof will be in whether these facilities actually get built, staffed, and operating at scale. If they can pull it off, it could create a template for rebuilding American manufacturing competitiveness across multiple sectors. If not, well, we’ll just have more impressive headlines without the capacity to back them up.