Indiana is simultaneously attracting the largest single development investment in its history and watching two of its most established industrial supply chains restructure beneath the surface — and three hard dates in the next 90 days determine whether you are positioned ahead of those moves or behind them.

SK hynix Breaks Ground in West Lafayette — But a December Court Date Is the Number That Matters

On August 27, SK hynix held a ceremonial groundbreaking at Purdue University's Holloway Gymnasium for its $4 billion advanced HBM packaging facility at Purdue Research Park. The specs: 133 acres, CHIPS Act backing of up to $458 million in grants and $500 million in proposed loans, cleanroom targeted for October 2028, and mass production of next-generation HBM in the second half of 2029. Construction site manager Hyujoong Kim confirmed the build is 7% complete and on schedule. Governor Braun called it the biggest development project in Indiana's history.

Here is what the groundbreaking coverage did not lead with. A Tippecanoe Circuit Court judge previously issued a construction halt tied to procedural questions in the Area Plan Commission process. That halt has been lifted and construction has resumed — but the underlying rezoning validity goes to trial in December. The original rezoning flipped the land from R1 residential to I3 heavy-impact industrial after the Commission itself voted 9-5 to recommend denial. The CHIPS Act releases funds in milestone-tied tranches. An adverse December ruling does not just pause construction — it creates a disbursement sequencing risk that could freeze hundreds of millions mid-build. At 7% complete, that exposure is still manageable. It will not be in 2027.

If you have supplier relationships sized around the 2029 SK hynix production ramp, get someone tracking that December docket now.

AES Indiana $71M Rate Rehearing: What the Reconstituted IURC Means for Your 2027 Cost Model

The AES Indiana rate story keeps developing. The IURC's June vote to approve a $71 million annual rate increase triggered a chain reaction — Commissioner Veleta resigned, Governor Braun fired former Chair Andy Zay, and Braun appointed Joshua Bain to the commission. Bain, as an Indianapolis City-County Council member, co-sponsored a resolution last October explicitly urging AES to withdraw its rate request. The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and Citizens Action Coalition both filed rehearing petitions. The IURC voted to reopen the case. A preliminary hearing is set for September 17.

Here is the exposure most operators have not modeled. Zay's active lawsuit argued Bain should be barred from exercising commissioner powers until the litigation concluded. A Marion County court had not resolved that before Bain issued a concurring opinion in the case. If Zay's for-cause removal challenge succeeds, every order the reconstituted commission issues in this rehearing — including any rate rollback — is subject to collateral challenge. The January 2027 phase-two increase, roughly $54 million annualized, could hold, be rolled back, or be subject to that collateral challenge.

Model both the full phase-two increase and a partial rollback scenario before September 17 narrows the range. If you serve the Indianapolis area and have not stress-tested either outcome in your 2027 energy cost forecast, that hearing is your deadline.

For deeper context on how Indiana utility tracker charges are being scrutinized right now, the IURC investigation into Indiana utility tracker charges and the AES Indiana rate rehearing filing cover the regulatory sequence that brought us here.

Questions for Your Morning Huddle

Q: What does the December Tippecanoe Circuit Court rezoning trial mean for SK hynix's CHIPS Act funding?

A: The CHIPS Act releases funds in milestone-tied tranches. If the December trial produces an adverse ruling on the rezoning validity, it creates a disbursement sequencing risk that could freeze hundreds of millions mid-build — at a stage when the facility is far enough along that a freeze would be far more damaging than it is today at 7% complete. Suppliers and contractors sized around the 2029 production ramp need someone tracking that docket now.

Q: What should Indiana manufacturers model before the AES Indiana IURC preliminary hearing on September 17?

A: Model both the full January 2027 phase-two AES rate increase — roughly $54 million annualized — and a partial rollback scenario. The Zay lawsuit creates collateral challenge exposure on any order the reconstituted commission issues, which means neither outcome is certain. September 17 is the deadline to have both scenarios stress-tested in your 2027 energy cost forecast before the hearing narrows the range.

Q: How do Canada's September 8 retaliatory tariffs on steel and aluminum affect Elkhart County RV manufacturers?

A: Finished RVs narrowly avoided direct inclusion on Canada's retaliatory tariff list, but RV OEMs source steel and aluminum components through cross-border supply chains. Any Canadian input passing back through a U.S. finished product faces a direct cost increase, and secondary effects on North American steel and aluminum pricing add a second exposure layer. With Elkhart already soft — Thor Industries filed WARN notices for 570 workers — and the LCI/Patrick merger in HSR antitrust review, September 8 is a hard date, not an abstract one. Audit your Canadian sourcing before the week is out.

Elkhart RV Industry: Canada Tariffs Hit September 8 and the LCI/Patrick Merger Adds Structural Pressure

Effective September 8 — five days from publication — Canada imposes 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum exports from the United States. Finished RVs narrowly avoided direct inclusion, but RV OEMs source steel and aluminum components through cross-border supply chains. Any Canadian input passing back through a U.S. finished product faces a direct cost increase, and secondary effects on North American steel and aluminum pricing are the variable to watch. Elkhart is already soft: Thor Industries filed WARN notices for 570 workers across Heartland RV, Cruiser RV, and DRV LLC, and RVIA is projecting 2026 industry wholesale shipments of only 315,000 to 345,000 units.

Compounding that: LCI Industries and Patrick Industries — two Elkhart-area component suppliers each reporting roughly $3.7 billion in 2024 net sales — announced an all-stock merger in June that is now in HSR antitrust review. If cleared in the first half of 2027, it creates a single dominant supplier of windows, doors, chassis, and interiors to every major OEM in the county, precisely when those OEMs are margin-compressed. If your raw material runs through Canadian supply channels, September 8 is not an abstract date. Audit that exposure before the week is out.

GM Exits New Carlisle Battery JV — Samsung SDI Pivots to Energy Storage

GM has exited the New Carlisle, Indiana battery joint venture. Samsung SDI is pivoting the $3.5 billion site toward energy storage systems. St. Joseph County's 1,600-job projection is now without a confirmed timeline. If you were sized around EV pouch or prismatic cell production at New Carlisle, the Samsung SDI ESS pivot likely alters the form factor and cadence — review whether your tooling, qualification path, or delivery terms still map to Samsung SDI's ESS product line, and treat the absent revised timeline as a planning risk, not a data point to wait on.

For additional context on how the Samsung SDI New Carlisle situation has developed, see Samsung SDI New Carlisle Battery Plant Pivot: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Know Now.

Three dates drive the next 90 days for Indiana manufacturers: September 8 for Canadian tariff exposure on steel and aluminum inputs, September 17 for the AES Indiana IURC preliminary hearing, and December for the Tippecanoe Circuit Court rezoning trial that carries CHIPS Act disbursement risk. The operators who have modeled all three before those dates arrive are the ones positioned to act — not react.