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Ohio couple pleads guilty to using trucking companies for COVID-related loan fraud

An Ohio couple that owned multiple trucking companies pleaded guilty Monday in an Ohio federal courtroom to charges they committed wire fraud to obtain funds under COVID-era programs designed to keep employees on the payroll in the early days of the pandemic.

Ajay Chawla, 60, and his wife Ruhi, 50, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to charges of wire fraud. The original complaint was filed in January 2024, and the investigation began in 2022, according to court documents.

There were four trucking companies that were at the heart of the Chawlas’ fraud: Prime Transportation and Logistics, ABC Trucking, Apex Truck Lines LLC and A1 Diesel Truck Repair. The charges against Ajay Chawla also said he submitted false statements to both the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General and FMCSA. The false statements involved the ownership of Apex Truck Lines.

In a prepared statement, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Ohio noted that wire fraud can carry a penalty of up to 20 years. No sentencing date was disclosed by the U.S. Attorney’s office that issued a prepared statement on the guilty pleas.

In the revised charge handed down in April, prosecutors recap the various loan requests under the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs that the Chawlas took advantage of to secure funds from the government. 

Total funds in question

The number of fraudulent loans obtained by the defendants totaled four under PPP and three under EIDL. A list of all the loans acquired by the Chawlas totaled more than $900,000.

The government said the funds were not used to guarantee a continuation of worker employment. Instead, they were used primarily for real estate acquisitions. 

The Chawlas, according to the revised charge, launched their scheme soon after the pandemic hit, first through the EIDL and then later the PPP. For example, the first application under the EIDL was made March 31, which would have been in the first days of COVID and before the PPP was created by the CARES Act. The EIDL program already existed under the activities of the Small Business Administration. 

The Chawlas misrepresented the number of employees at the companies and the company’s revenues, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The investigation was carried out by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, the  Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

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Building a Back Office That Doesn’t Fall Apart When You Add Trucks

Everyone wants to scale. Until they do. That’s when the problems start.

Invoices get missed. Drivers start calling dispatch for payroll issues. You’re chasing paperwork, and no one can find the load confirmation for that Tuesday drop in Birmingham.

Adding trucks too fast without fixing your back office is like building a house on wet cardboard. It’ll hold for a little while. But the more weight you put on it, the faster it collapses.

This article breaks down what a back office actually is, why most small fleets ignore it, and how to build one that doesn’t fall apart when you scale from one truck to five and beyond.

First, Let’s Define the Back Office

The back office is everything behind the wheel:

  • Billing and invoicing
  • Driver settlements
  • Dispatch and tracking
  • Maintenance records
  • Compliance (DOT, ELD, IFTA, insurance, etc.)
  • Broker and customer communication
  • Document management

If it’s not on the road and it keeps your business running, it’s back office.

Most carriers don’t think about it until it breaks. That’s too late.

The Most Common Failure: Adding Trucks Without Adding Systems

Here’s what usually happens:

  • 1 truck: You do everything yourself. Google Sheets, PDFs, and your phone.
  • 2 trucks: You add a dispatcher or cousin to help, but no process.
  • 3 trucks: Now there’s confusion over who’s doing what. Someone misses factoring paperwork. You’re getting calls from brokers.
  • 4+ trucks: Dispatchers overlap, driver messages fall through the cracks, and customers start asking for updates you don’t have.

That’s not growth. That’s chaos. You didn’t scale your business. You multiplied your problems.

Before You Scale: Fix These 5 Core Back Office Systems

You need structure before trucks.

1. Dispatch Clarity

  • One source of truth. TMS or shared spreadsheet.
  • Every driver load, empty status, delivery time—clearly assigned.
  • Avoid the “he said/she said” confusion with a documented system.

2. Invoicing and Documents

  • Stop chasing PODs and rate cons in your texts.
  • Use tools like Dropbox, Google Drive, or a document pipeline.
  • Factoring? Set a weekly upload deadline. Monday cutoff. No exceptions.

3. Driver Settlement Tracker

  • Weekly settlements should be automated, not guesstimated.
  • Build a template: Gross revenue, deductions, fuel, escrow, pay.
  • Consistency builds trust. One mistake, and a driver starts shopping.

4. Maintenance and Inspections

  • Keep a shared folder or app for all receipts, inspections, and PM logs.
  • Miss one annual inspection, and your safety score takes a hit.
  • Build a preventive calendar, not just a repair reaction.

5. Broker and Customer Communication

  • Who replies to what? What’s the update window?
  • Use templated emails or check calls every X hours.
  • Small fleets lose repeat freight because of weak communication. Fix it.

Real Talk: One Dispatcher Can’t Be Payroll, Safety, and HR

If you expect your dispatcher to handle loads, cover payroll, fix driver issues, chase PODs, and keep your IFTA straight, you’re asking them to fail. 

You don’t need a big team. You need clear roles. One person can wear three hats, but they can’t wear them all at once.

Split it up:

  • Dispatch: Driver management and customer updates
  • Admin: Invoicing, documents, settlements
  • Compliance: Safety, inspections, registration, insurance

Can it be one person to start? Sure. But the roles must be defined, or they will fall through the cracks.

Start With This Simple Weekly Rhythm

Every Friday, your office should close the week strong:

  • Finalize all invoices for the week
  • Upload all PODs and BOLs
  • Log maintenance or repairs
  • Review fuel receipts and IFTA mileage
  • Double-check driver settlements for next week

If you’re not closing the week clean, you’re starting the next one already behind.

The Rule: If You Can’t Repeat It, You Can’t Scale It

Growth depends on repeatability. If your process changes every week based on who remembers what, you’re not ready to grow. Make it boring. Make it structured. That’s how you scale without stress.

Use templates. Create checklists. Build shared folders. Assign owners.

Before you add another truck, ask:

  • Can we dispatch without errors?
  • Are settlements accurate to the penny?
  • Is our paperwork complete every week?

If the answer is no, stop. Fix the foundation.

Final Word

Adding trucks isn’t growth if your back office can’t support it. You’re not just building a fleet—you’re building a business. And businesses run on systems, not chaos.

If your second truck breaks your process, imagine what five will do. Build the structure first. Then scale. That’s how you grow on purpose—and grow profitably.

Truck safety group warns of ‘political interference’ danger at DOT

DOT Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — New enforcement rights proposed for truck drivers and trucking companies under investigation will create a “chilling effect” within the federal government at the expense of safety, crash victim advocates warn.

Responding to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation in May, the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), which represents victims of truck crashes and their families, emphasized the NPRM’s “enforcement rights” provision as particularly troublesome.

“The NPRM proposes that regulated parties, at any point during enforcement action, petition the DOT General Counsel with claims that DOT personnel violated rules throughout the course of the enforcement action,” TSC President Tami Friedrich Trakh and TSC Executive Director Zach Cahalan wrote in comments published on Tuesday.

According to the provision, if such violation claims against DOT personnel can be corroborated, DOT’s general counsel can direct the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to provide the following relief:

  • Removal of the enforcement team from the particular matter.
  • Elimination of certain issues or the exclusion of certain evidence or the directing of certain factual findings in the course of the enforcement action.
  • Restarting the enforcement action again from the beginning or recommencing the action from an earlier point in the proceeding.

In addition, the provision allows the general counsel to recommend disciplinary action against the FMCSA investigator that committed the violation.

The relief measures being proposed are “highly irregular and inconsistent with established norms for federal regulators,” TSC contends.

“First of all, it creates a chilling effect for DOT/FMCSA personnel to know that the party they are investigating can file a complaint with the DOT Secretary about their conduct and face discipline.

“Furthermore, what constitutes discipline? The NPRM does not address this obvious question. Does this mean staff can be terminated? Will they be subject to leave without pay? There is no question that these newly proposed ‘enforcement rights’ will result in DOT/FMCSA enforcement staff performing their life-saving work with trepidation and deference to the parties they investigate.”

Providing such a complaint channel also creates a “de facto pardon mechanism” for the Transportation secretary to veto any enforcement case for any reason the secretary sees fit, TSC warns, and is inappropriate for a regulated-regulator relationship.

“DOT/FMCSA staff should not have to concern themselves with the political connectedness of the carriers they investigate, but rather, be guided only by the evidence yielded during the investigation. The enforcement process has historically been safeguarded from the potential for political interference precisely because politics has no role in safeguarding the public from motor carriers who operate with reckless disregard for safety regulations.”

The American Trucking Associations, on the other hand, whose members include the country’s largest trucking companies, believes the new provision “could provide a valuable channel for regulated stakeholders to seek redress and improve accountability in enforcement practices,” wrote Brenna Lyles, ATA’s senior director for safety policy, in comments published by DOT on Tuesday.

Pointing out that non-federal enforcement officials also enforce FMCSA regulations, Lyles asked DOT to clarify whether the violation petition process would also be available in enforcement actions conducted by such officials. 

Lyles also sought clarification on how the new enforcement provision would affect the assignment of safety ratings and Compliance, Safety, Accountability [CSA] scores.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

Tariff damage looms without new trade deal, says economist

May’s lower import volumes through the Port of Los Angeles could be a sign of things to come absent a new trade deal with China, even as the tariff pause boosts U.S.-bound shipments even with year-ago levels.

The southern California container gateway, a bellwether indicator for broader economic activity, saw its 10-month growth streak snapped on total throughput of 717,000 twenty foot equivalent units, 5% lower than the previous year’s volume for the same month. 

The 9% drop in imports from the previous year and a sharp 19% decrease compared to April prior to the tariff pause created a striking variance from expectations.

“Inbound cargo totaled 356,020 TEUs, about 25% less than our projections from the beginning of April, prior to the tariffs’ announcement,” said port Executive Director Gene Seroka, in a media briefing.

Exports totaled 120,000 units, also down 5% y/y, the sixth straight month of decline.

Seroka said it was “promising” that the U.S. and China continue to talk, referring to the recent negotiations in London. But “tariffs remain elevated,” maintaining an impactful 55% rate on Chinese imports to the United States. The retaliatory tariffs from China, averaging 10%, contribute to an uncertain trade environment.

Still, data from SONAR showed shippers taking advantage of the tariff pause. Through June 16 loaded container volume headed to the U.S. from Chinese ports was even with year-ago levels. 

At the same time, consumers reined in spending as the National Retail Federation reported overall retail sales fell y/y in May.

Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Budget Lab at Yale University, in the briefing provided a detailed analysis of how the tariffs are affecting consumers and the economy at large. 

“Tariffs to date announced in 2025 raise the average effective tariff rate in the United States by an additional 12 percentage points,” Tedeschi said. This increase translates into a 1.5% hike in prices for American families, which effectively reduces purchasing power by approximately $2,500 per family per year in 2024 dollars.

Tedeschi said the regressive nature of tariffs “hurt lower and working-class families more,” with those at the income scale’s bottom experiencing a 2.5% pinch compared to the top’s 1%.

As the conversation turned to the inflationary impacts of tariffs, Tedeschi said it takes time for tariffs to flow through to the official data. He said tariffs on imported washing machines in 2018 took three months to influence consumer prices significantly. The current situation, complicated by factors like inventory levels and uncertain policy outcomes, suggests a gradual but persistent effect on inflation.

Despite these challenges, there was a semblance of positive news shared with respect to future port activities. Seroka noted, “Released just this week, the National Retail Federation’s port tracker predicts a decline in imports for June, July, and August.” Although this points to continued caution, the port’s operational readiness offers some optimism. “Our velocity statistics are good,” Seroka emphasized, indicating that the port’s infrastructure is well-prepared to manage fluctuating cargo volumes efficiently.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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Deadhead Reduction Strategies That Work

Most carriers don’t realize how much empty miles are quietly killing their bottom line. You can have the best rates in the world, but if your truck runs 150 miles empty between loads, you’re bleeding profit—and most of the time, you don’t even notice it until it’s too late. Deadhead doesn’t show up on a check stub. It doesn’t pop up in factoring reports. But it’s one of the fastest ways to destroy margins and wear out equipment chasing freight that isn’t worth the move.

Too many owner-operators and small fleet owners accept deadheading as the cost of doing business. They say things like, “That’s just trucking,” or, “I had to bounce 200 miles to get a better paying load.” But here’s the hard truth—if you’re constantly running empty, it’s not a rate problem. It’s a planning problem. And if you’re not actively tracking, analyzing, and attacking your deadhead strategy, you’re burning fuel, time, and opportunity every week.

This article breaks down real-world tactics that actually work to reduce deadhead—whether you’re running one truck or managing a growing fleet. These aren’t theories. These are moves we coach on every week inside the Playbook.

Know Your Deadhead Percentage Like You Know Your Rate

Most carriers can tell you their rate per mile. Few can tell you their deadhead percentage. That’s a problem. If you don’t know how many of your total miles are unpaid, how can you measure if your planning is improving?

Let’s say you drove 2,500 total miles last week. If 600 of those were deadhead, that’s 24% of your miles making zero revenue. You wouldn’t give away 24% of your revenue—but that’s exactly what happens when you ignore this number.

Track it weekly. Use your ELD data or your TMS to separate loaded vs total miles. The goal is to keep deadheads under 15%. Under 10%? You’re running sharp. Over 20%? You’re leaking cash.

Stop Chasing Rates That Don’t Make Sense After the Bounce

A $3.00/mile load sounds great—until you realize you ran 200 miles to get to it. That’s the trick the load board doesn’t show you. You might see a flashy rate, but if you had to burn half a tank of fuel just to get to the shipper, the math falls apart quickly.

You have to evaluate total revenue per all miles, not just loaded miles.

Here’s a basic example:

  • Load A: 200-mile deadhead + 800 loaded miles = 1,000 total miles
    Rate: $3.00/mile on 800 = $2,400
    All miles rate: $2.40/mile
  • Load B: 50-mile deadhead + 700 loaded miles = 750 total miles
    Rate: $2.60/mile on 700 = $1,820
    All miles rate: $2.43/mile

Load B actually pays better once you factor the deadhead—and your truck spends less time and fuel to do it. This is the level of math serious carriers are using every day to make smarter moves.

Build Freight Zones, Not Freight Hops

Most carriers think lane to lane. Smart carriers think from zone to zone. Instead of jumping from city to city chasing random freight, identify 3 to 5 origin zones where you consistently find strong outbound loads. Then build your weekly plan to get back into those zones—on purpose.

For example, if you run out of Atlanta, you know there’s usually decent freight coming back from:

  • Dallas
  • Harrisburg
  • Chicago
  • Orlando (depending on season)

That means if you see a Florida load that ends in Miami, you skip it—because you know getting back to Atlanta is a mess. But if it ends in Jacksonville, you take it and plan your reload right back into Atlanta. You’re not playing checkers anymore. You’re playing chess.

Use Short Hauls Strategically

Short hauls don’t always look pretty on paper, but when used correctly, they’re one of the best tools to kill deadheads.

Let’s say you’re empty in Indianapolis, and the good loads are in Columbus. That’s 175 miles of deadhead. Now imagine you take a 90-mile short haul paying $500 that drops you halfway to Columbus. That $500 just turned your deadhead into profit. Then you reload in Columbus with the original long haul. You turned a zero-mile segment into revenue—and you protected your fuel spend along the way.

The key is to layer short hauls, not just bounce aimlessly waiting on the perfect rate.

Build Relationships That Reduce Deadhead Automatically

The biggest reason small fleets suffer from deadhead is simple—they’re relying 100% on the spot market. When every load is one-and-done, you’re constantly chasing the next pickup. But when you develop relationships with brokers or shippers who give you regular freight, you gain consistency—and predictability.

Example: Let’s say you have a broker who always gives you loads from Charlotte to Louisville every Monday. That means your Sunday planning becomes intentional. You stop gambling with freight, and you start reverse-engineering your weekend to land near Charlotte by Monday morning.

That’s how you reduce deadhead before it even happens—by planning for freight you haven’t even been offered yet.

Set a Deadhead Limit—and Stick to It

Inside the Playbook, we coach our carriers to set a hard deadhead limit. For many, it’s 100 miles. For some, it’s 75.

That means if a load requires more than that to get to the shipper, you either:

  • Negotiate more money to offset the deadhead
  • Find a short-haul filler load to cut the distance
  • Or pass on the load entirely

Without a rule, you’ll make decisions emotionally. With a rule, you stay consistent and protect your profit.

Final Word

Deadhead is the silent killer in most trucking operations. You won’t see it on the invoice. You won’t hear a broker mention it. But it shows up in your fuel bill, your maintenance schedule, and your worn-out drivers.

The carriers who win aren’t just chasing the next big rate. They’re planning their weeks like dispatchers. They’re tracking their deadhead percentage like it’s a KPI. And they’re making decisions based on total miles—not loaded lies.

If you want to run profitably in this market, you’ve got to stop giving away empty miles like they don’t matter. Every mile counts. Every move costs. And every decision you make either builds margin—or burns it.

Smart trucking is intentional. Deadhead reduction isn’t a suggestion. It’s survival.

Check Call:  Shippers and 3PLs not seeing eye to eye

(GIF: GIPHY)

The annual Third‑Party Logistics Study from NTT DATA, Penske and Penn State has been published for 2025. This year’s report focuses on the relationships between shippers and 3PLs. It’s a benchmark of what is working and what needs a tune‑up in the industry.

Shipper–3PL partnerships remain solid; 89% of shipper respondents said their relationships are successful, a decrease from 95% in the previous year. Among 3PL respondents, 94% said their relationships were successful, down slightly from the prior year’s result of 99%.

This underscores the importance of check-ins with shippers and managing those relationships. It’s a concerning trend that shippers are losing satisfaction with their 3PL provider. If it continues, shippers will look for new providers to meet their happiness levels. 

Regarding organizational changes, 61% of shippers and 73% of 3PLs agree that managing change is mission-critical. So much so that 58% of shippers and 76% of 3PLs are actively using structured change‑management tools. 

About 74% of shippers say they’d switch providers based on AI. 3PLs that offer AI solutions will gain a significant competitive advantage. But to succeed, 3PLs will need to overcome the challenges of system integration, lack of skilled personnel, and making the right AI investments to meet shippers’ expectations.

The Amazon effect is plaguing 3PLs, as consumers in large markets are expecting deliveries from shippers in two days or less. Nearly half of shippers report that sub‑2‑day delivery and real-time tracking are now table stakes. Sustainability is no longer a “nice-to-have”: environmental accountability is becoming a decision driver.

Regionalization is a big move in 2025. About 76% of shippers and 71% of 3PLs are shifting toward nearshoring or reshaping production to be more local/regional.

“The supply chain environment is changing. A lot of organizations are contemplating alternate approaches and rethinking their strategies. As a result, they are taking a more critical, in-depth look at their relationships and partnerships,” said Dr. C. John Langley, clinical professor, supply chain information systems and director of development, Center for Supply Chain Research at Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University and founder of the annual study. 

What this means for brokers & 3PLs:

  • Double down on change management: Build playbooks. Prepare people. Become the glue during volatile periods.
  • Invest in AI smartly: Don’t chase every shiny tool—pinpoint use cases (like back office automation) with clear ROI.
  • Elevate speed, visibility, sustainability: These three are now table stakes. Without investment and effective implementation, shippers will move.
  • Be nearshore-ready: Set up domestic fulfillment and regional carrier relationships to support nearshoring trends.

Regulators ask CPKC to outline plans for recovery from computer-related issues

WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs has called on CPKC to provide the board with a plan to address issues resulting from last month’s computer cutover for former Kansas City Southern portions of its system.

The cutover, which occurred the weekend of May 3, has led to service issues in Louisiana, eastern Texas, and parts of Mississippi, as initially reported by Trains News Wire here CPKC system cutover triggers service woes ….

“The agency has engaged with CPKC customers who continue to report elevated delays, missed switches, and congestion,” Fuchs wrote in a letter today (June 17, 2025) to CPKC CEO Keith Creel, citing board data showing higher dwell at key yards, and decreases in velocity, on-time performance, and industry spot and pull. The letter says the board expects CPKC to provide a Service Action Plan to address the issues by this Friday, June 20.

Fuchs wrote that he expects that plan to “detail the specific, concrete steps CPKC intends to take to recover from its current state, communicate effectively with its customers, and interchange efficiently with other carriers: and to “include key performance indicators, the railroad’s best estimate for the timing of recovery, and relevant information about any forthcoming technological changes.”

A CPKC spokesman said the railroad will provide the plan as requested.

Some customers previously told Trains News Wire they had diverted some traffic to trucks or requested alternate routings to avoid the U.S. part of the CPKC system. Creel told a May 21 investor conference that he expected the situation to be normalized in two to three weeks.

Watco rail gets $600M in new private equity

Watco Cos., the rail and transportation logistics company that operates 45 short lines, has received a minority investment of more than $600 million from Duration Capital Partners, the companies announced Tuesday.

The investment will be used to address Watco’s long-term strategic investments, the company said, including assuming full ownership of Industrial Rail Services, rail operator at six Dow Chemical facilities in the United States and Canada.

“This investment from Duration is not just capital,” Watco Chief Executive Dan Smith said in a release. “It’s a long-term vote of confidence in our people, our strategy, and our future. We’re grateful for their trust and energized by the opportunity to continue to grow with our customers.”

The two firms have partnered on multiple transactions since 2018, with a shared commitment to investing in transportation infrastructure.

“This investment is a testament to the strength of our partnership with Watco,” said Duration co-CEO Josh Connor. “Watco exemplifies the type of company we want to support for many years to come – focused on safety, customer service, and operational excellence.” Added co-CEO Emmett McCann, “Our relationship has grown into a deep collaboration, and we have helped many customers expand their businesses. Watco is a world-class operator, and we are proud to be their long-term partner.”

Duration, a private investment company focused on North American transportation infrastructure, was founded in 2024 as a spin-off from Oaktree Capital. It manages more than $4 billion in assets involving ports, rails, and information.

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FedEx robot improves parcel sorting at Cologne airport facility

A robotics arm helps sort packages on a FedEx package conveyor.

FedEx Corp. has introduced an AI-powered sorting robot at its air cargo terminal in Cologne, Germany to improve the accuracy of conveyor systems that move and route packages. The robot is the first of its kind in FedEx’s European network and highlights the company’s focus on using technology to automate logistics functions, the company said Friday in a news release. 

Cologne Bonn Airport is the largest of seven FedEx (NYSE: FDX) air stations in Germany, employing more than 900 persons. 

The robotic arm, manufactured by Hellebrekers B.V., is mounted inside a protective cage on the small package sortation line where incoming parcels are fed. The machine primarily sorts documents and smaller parcels up to 8.8 pounds, processing up to 1,000 pieces per hour and routing them to about 90 destinations. Its main job is to ensure that every parcel is placed with the label facing upward because the sort system in Cologne is equipped with only a top-read camera for scanning labels, spokesman Jonathan Lyons said via email. The robotic system integrates two cameras — top and bottom — and a flipper mechanism to detect and correctly orient each item before placement on the conveyor so that every label is readable by the downstream scanner. 

“AI-supported technologies like this help us manage shipments more effectively, enhance customer experience, and boost our competitive edge as e-commerce continues to drive growth in the market,” said Boris Stoffer, FedEx’s managing director network operations Germany. “These technologies are also supporting our employees by reducing physical strain by taking over repetitive, high-volume tasks.”

Automation is a rapidly growing feature of modern warehouses because of the productivity they provide in picking, packing and sorting shipments. The global warehouse robotics market is projected to exceed $51 billion by 2030, according to Statista. 

FedEx installed four robotic arms at its Memphis, Tennessee, global package hub in 2020 to assist small package sorting. In 2022, FedEx deployed more sorting robots at its South China e-commerce sorting center in Guangzhou, China, and its Singapore hub. The express carrier said it also uses robotic sortation and identification systems at 17 U.S. distribution facilities.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Amazon taps FedEx for big-and-bulky residential deliveries

Apple supplier Jabil plans $500M venture for AI infrastructure

Electronics component maker Jabil is betting on surging infrastructure demand for AI data centers throughout the U.S.

Jabil (NYSE: JBL) said on Tuesday that it’s investing $500 million over the next several years to expand its cloud and artificial intelligence data center infrastructure for its customers. 

The investment includes large-scale production facilities, capital investments and workforce development. Jabil plans to build the facility in the Southeast U.S. and be operational by mid-2026.

“This initiative is a key element of our long-term strategy to diversify our commercial portfolio and strengthen Jabil’s presence in the U.S.,” CEO Mike Dastoor said in a news release. “While the geopolitical landscape remains dynamic, our position as a U.S.-based company with a significant domestic footprint enables us to help the world’s leading brands navigate challenges.”

Based in St. Petersburg, Florida,  Jabil is a global manufacturing and supply chain solutions company. 

Jabil’s customers include major brands in logistics, packaging, mobility, automotive, wearables, aerospace, enterprise, digital home, point-of-sale, printing and energy. Some of the company’s largest clients include Apple, UPS and Amazon.

Jabil has 30 facilities across the U.S. and more than 100 worldwide, with investments in automation, robotics and process optimization. 

The company’s $500 million investment follows recent announcements by tech companies Apple, Nvidia and Foxconn, to create manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

In February, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) announced it will invest more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, including a major facility in Houston.

Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) said in April that they plan to invest $500 billion over the next four years to build AI super computers in the U.S., through partnerships with TSMC, Foxconn, Wistron, Amkor and SPIL.

Nvidia’s investments and partnerships will include a semiconductor chips facility in Arizona and AI supercomputer plant in Houston.

Taiwan-based tech company Foxconn recently said it’s investing $450 million in a 100-acre property in Houston to build an AI server manufacturing facility.