How much did Indiana's industrial property assessments increase in 2026?

Statewide industrial assessed values rose 25.8% in 2026, more than 10 points ahead of the 15% increase on commercial property and more than three times the 7.3% increase on residential property. That gap means Indiana manufacturers should expect a noticeably higher 2027 tax bill even before any county finalizes new rates.

Does SB 1's new depreciation-floor relief apply to equipment inside a TIF district?

No. SB 1 excludes equipment located inside an existing tax increment financing district from the new 30% depreciation-floor relief, which means manufacturers already sitting in a TIF district for abatement purposes, often the same plants with the newest capital equipment, are the least likely to see the relief the law was built to deliver. Check your facility's TIF status before you assume the new depreciation floor applies to you.

When does the federal two-year CDL skills test waiver window close for Indiana veterans?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's expanded two-year lookback window, which lets recently separated veterans skip the CDL skills test, closes October 29, 2026. Veterans who left active duty between mid-2024 and mid-2025 have a narrow window to use it before the lookback period potentially reverts to one year.

Manufacturing News TEG Daily

October 11, 2026 · Montgomery · Tippecanoe · Marion · NIPSCO

Nucor's $105 Million Crawfordsville Expansion, SEL's $25 Million West Lafayette Bet, and Indiana's Industrial Property Tax Increase for 2027

Nucor's $105M Crawfordsville expansion, SEL's $25M bet, and a 25.8% industrial property tax increase: what Indiana manufacturers need to track this week.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Indiana's industrial property tax increase for 2027 arrived this week as three separate developments landed on manufacturers' desks at once: Nucor committed $105 million to expand its Crawfordsville towers and structures plant, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories committed $25 million to bring printed circuit board assembly in-house at its West Lafayette facility, and the Indiana Manufacturers Association confirmed that statewide industrial assessed values rose 25.8% in 2026, the steepest increase of any property class in the state. Add a business-interruption insurance gap exposed by August's White River flooding and a new federal CDL waiver for veterans, and Montgomery County, Tippecanoe County, and Marion County manufacturers have five separate items to carry into this week's leadership meeting.

01Montgomery

Nucor's $105 Million Crawfordsville Expansion

Nucor Corporation confirmed on October 8 that it will invest $105 million to expand its Towers and Structures plant in Crawfordsville, adding more than 120,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 100 new jobs averaging $87,500 a year to a facility that currently employs 328 people. Groundbreaking is targeted for the first quarter of 2027, hiring starts mid-2027, and the full job ramp runs through the end of 2029, contingent on Montgomery County finalizing its local incentive package. Nucor's chief rival in this product line, Valmont Industries, is running a separate $1 billion utility-capacity buildout through 2029, but Valmont imports roughly $220 million a year in fabricated steel structures from Mexico.

Impact: Nucor's chief rival, Valmont Industries, is simultaneously planning a $1 billion utility-capacity buildout through 2029 but imports roughly $220 million a year in fabricated steel structures from Mexico, leaving Valmont exposed to tariff risk that Nucor's fully domestic, mill-adjacent model sidesteps entirely. Nucor is also expanding a facility that's only been in production since 2025, before baseline throughput numbers even exist, which signals either long-term utility supply contracts already locked in or a deliberate land-grab on manufacturing footprint ahead of competitors.
Watch: The Q1 2027 groundbreaking and whether Montgomery County finalizes the local incentive package Nucor's expansion is contingent on.
For the huddle: Are we positioned to supply into or alongside Nucor's domestic galvanized-steel utility structure platform, or are we more exposed if tariff policy eventually targets Valmont's Mexico-sourced import competition?

SourcesNucor To Invest $105 Million To Expand Indiana Utility Structures Facility (pulse2.com)

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02Tippecanoe

SEL's $25 Million West Lafayette Vertical-Integration Bet

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories is putting $25 million into its only Indiana plant, inside Purdue's Discovery Park District in West Lafayette, to bring printed circuit board assembly in-house for the first time. The project adds surface mount, electronic assembly, and conformal coat lines, pushes recloser-control capacity up more than 35%, and adds about 130 jobs to the current headcount of 211. Completion is targeted for March 2027.

Impact: SEL is pulling PCB assembly in-house to match the integrated supply chains ABB and Siemens already run against it in the recloser-control market, part of a $500 million-plus multi-state SEL buildout. The bigger local story: this plant sits in the same 400-acre Discovery Park District as Rolls-Royce's test facility and SkyWater's planned $1.8 billion semiconductor fab, and SEL's new manufacturing wage floors (reported at $26/$31/$36 an hour across shifts) will pressure every other Tippecanoe County employer competing for the same production talent.
Watch: The March 2027 completion date, and whether Indiana discloses any EDGE tax credits or workforce grants tied to the deal, a detail no outlet has yet reported.
For the huddle: Given SEL's new wage floors and the Rolls-Royce/SkyWater talent pull inside the same district, is our starting pay for PCB and electronics assembly roles still competitive in that labor shed?

SourcesSEL’s latest expansion planned in Indiana (dnews.com)

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03Boone

Indiana's 25.8% Industrial Property Tax Jump Sets Up Higher 2027 Bills

Indiana Manufacturers Association President Andrew Berger published new Department of Local Government Finance data on September 24 showing industrial assessed values rose 25.8% statewide in 2026, well ahead of commercial's 15% increase and residential's 7.3%. Boone County alone posted a 956% increase in industrial vacant land value, an outlier large enough that DLGF spokeswoman Jenny Banks says it can distort statewide comparisons. Berger's warning is mechanical, not political.

Impact: Berger's real warning is mechanical: more than 80% of the $1.5 billion in homeowner property tax cuts from 2025's SB 1 has to be offset somewhere, and that burden is landing on industrial owners. Buried in SB 1 is a carve-out that excludes equipment inside existing TIF districts from the new 30% depreciation-floor relief, meaning the manufacturers most likely to already sit in a TIF district for abatement purposes are the least likely to get the relief the law was supposed to deliver.
Watch: The 2027 legislative session, where further homeowner property tax cuts are expected to be debated and could deepen the shift onto business.
For the huddle: Do any of our Indiana facilities sit inside an existing TIF district, which would exclude us from SB 1's new 30% depreciation-floor relief on newly purchased equipment?

SourcesAssessed value increases hitting businesses, too (chicagocrusader.com)

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04Marion

Central Indiana Flooding Exposes a Business-Interruption Insurance Gap

Storms between August 11 and 17 dropped more than a foot of rain across central Indiana, pushing the White River at Anderson and Noblesville above crests set in 1913 and cutting off access to Indianapolis's Broad Ripple corridor for days. Shawn Johnson, owner of Peace Together Boutique, took on zero floodwater but lost five days of access to her store and a full week of revenue. That exact scenario, no physical damage but days of lost income, falls outside coverage for most Indiana businesses.

Impact: The detail missing from the story: standard commercial property policies and NFIP both exclude flood-related business-interruption losses, so Johnson's exact scenario, zero physical damage but five days of lost revenue, is essentially uninsurable under current policy structures for most Indiana businesses, including manufacturers whose BI sub-limits are already tightening to 30-45 days industry-wide. On top of that, Indianapolis mailed 546 letters warning flood-damaged households they may need new building permits to repair, a regulatory friction point that will stretch out recovery timelines for anyone trying to reinvest capital after a flood event.
Watch: Whether Purdue's Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment, which explicitly lists manufacturing as an assessed sector, produces manufacturer-specific findings or recommendations.
For the huddle: If floodwater cut off access to our facility for five days with zero physical damage, would our current business-interruption policy pay out anything at all?

SourcesWeather extremes could raise costs, reshape decisions for Indiana businesses (therepublic.com)

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05Statewide

Indiana Joins Even Exchange Program for Veteran CDL Waivers

Governor Mike Braun announced October 7 that Indiana has joined the federal Even Exchange Program, letting the Indiana BMV waive CDL skills testing for veterans holding qualifying military roles such as Army Motor Transport Operator or Air Force Fueler. Indiana is one of seven states added under the program, bringing the national total to 34, and carrier Werner Enterprises has committed to hiring 1,400 veterans and veteran spouses nationally. This waiver is Indiana's replacement pipeline for capacity the state deliberately pulled off the road.

Impact: This waiver is the state's replacement pipeline for capacity it deliberately pulled out of the market: Indiana's HEA 1200, signed April 1, 2026, revoked nearly 1,800 non-domiciled CDLs earlier this year. There's also an urgency most coverage missed: the federal two-year lookback window that lets recently separated veterans skip the skills test expires October 29, 2026, just 18 days after Braun's announcement, giving veterans who left service between mid-2024 and mid-2025 a narrow window to use it before it potentially reverts to one year.
Watch: The October 29, 2026 expiration date of the FMCSA's expanded two-year lookback waiver window, and whether it gets extended.
For the huddle: With HEA 1200 already having tightened Indiana's driver pool by revoking non-domiciled CDLs, should we be actively recruiting qualifying veteran separees now, before the federal lookback window narrows again after October 29?

SourcesIndiana Governor makes it easier for Hoosier veterans to access career opportunities in the trucking industry (casscountyonline.com)

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