Last year had a significant impact on the natural flow of global industry investment. The Trump Administration sought to implement increased tariffs on almost all countries —including the nation’s top three trade partners — to leverage a domestic manufacturing boost.
Movement throughout the world’s top industries in 2025 reflects the intricate Western shift in new corporate site selection strategies. By quantity of new facility location and expansion projects qualified for Site Selection’s Conway Projects Database, Machinery, Equipment & Construction remains the global industry leader for the ninth consecutive year. With 1,826 total projects, 1,214 of which were fresh facility announcements, the industry experienced a 9.3% increase over the year prior.
Moving up a rank to second, Transportation & Logistics saw the most industry growth by pulling in 1,122 projects, up 12.4% from 998 projects in 2024. In contrast, Food & Beverage experienced a steep 16.4% decline from the prior year, slipping to third place with 1,085 new and expansion projects. Business & Financial Services held firmly to its No. 4 rank with 1,055 total projects, exactly 100 projects more than in 2024. Chemicals & Plastics (852 projects) fell out of Site Selection’s top five, switching place with IT & Communications as new investments delivered an 11.8% increase in total projects (1,037).
We gathered data on the top 15 projects by capital investment from each leading industry — the U.S. secured 44 of 75 total projects. Projects spread throughout the map highlight the preferred global location for major investments announced throughout 2025. For insight into a few heavy hitters on board:
Would it surprise you to know that the year’s No. 1 project investment was delivered by the world’s most popular social media platform TikTok in Brazil?
The $38 billion data center investment led the entire IT & Communications sector. TikTok selected the northeastern Brazil state of Ceará to launch the company’s first data center development in Latin America. The data center campus will be constructed near the Pecém port complex with proximity to the city of Fortaleza, which connects directly to most of Brazil’s submarine internet cables. Wind farms will also be constructed in the region to supply the data center with 100% renewable energy, supported by a closed-loop water cooling system. The company expects the project to become operational by 2027, creating 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Around 4,650 miles north of there near Trenton, North Dakota, Cerilon is expected to invest over $3 billion to construct the first gas-to-liquids (GTL) production facility in North America. It will be the only large-scale natural gas-fed GTL plant of its kind globally, anticipated to produce a nominal 24,000 barrels per day of Group III+ Base Oils, GTL Naptha and GTL Diesel. Use of these base oils increases energy efficiency, creating fuel and greenhouse gas savings, the company says. By 2028, operations will begin across two facilities at the site, creating more than 2,500 direct jobs. The Canada-based energy supplier chose the state for its abundant natural gas supply, access to key markets and carbon sequestration suitability.
In Texas, Summit Next Gen is building the largest ethanol-to-jet fuel production facility in North America, carrying a $1.6 billion investment. A 60-acre site along the Houston Ship Channel is said to provide vital logistics infrastructure to cost-effectively source ethanol feedstock, in addition to delivering produced sustainable aviation fuel domestically and internationally for its offtake partners.
Moving farther down south to Galveston, Canada-based Davie Shipbuilding announced a $1 billion, 2,000-job American Icebreaker Factory in the region’s Gulf Copper shipyard. In response to increased demand for U.S. shipbuilding capacity, Davie plans to produce Arctic Security Cutters, which will be used by the U.S. Coast Guard if a contract is secured.
