Still-Powerful American Manufacturing—A Brief Introduction to 19 U.S.-Based Tier-Two Fortune Global 500 Manufacturing Companies | Ning Nanshan

Ranking #31 among U.S. manufacturers is General Dynamics Corporation, with $38.469 billion in revenue in 2021. This U.S. defense contractor’s most renowned and successful project is the F-16 Fighting Falcon light fighter jet, which has served in the U.S. Air Force—but its portfolio of notable products extends far beyond that. General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB), a subsidiary of General Dynamics, built the USS Holland—the U.S. Navy’s first commissioned submarine—which entered service in 1900—the same year the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China. GDEB also designed and built the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, launched and commissioned in 1954. Subsequently, the company designed and constructed all four classes of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarines: Ohio-class, Los Angeles-class, Seawolf-class, and Virginia-class. GDEB thus stands as a century-old submarine engineering pioneer. Meanwhile, Bath Iron Works—a General Dynamics subsidiary—designed and built the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The famed Zumwalt-class destroyers were also designed and built by Bath Iron Works. Additionally, General Dynamics’ Land Systems division designed and manufactured the U.S. Army’s iconic M1 Abrams main battle tank and Stryker armored vehicle. Notably, besides military hardware, the renowned Gulfstream business jets are also a General Dynamics product. Ranking #32 among U.S. manufacturers is CHS Inc., with $38.448 billion in revenue in 2021. This agricultural processing company produces canola oil from rapeseed, ethanol from corn, sunflower seed snacks, soybean oil from soybeans, and more. Of particular note is ethanol: CHS not only manufactures ethanol but also markets it, producing 260 million gallons annually (1 U.S. gallon = 3.785 liters) and marketing over 1 billion gallons per year. (“We produce 260 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol and market 1 billion gallons of ethanol each year.”) In the United States, ethanol is widely used as automotive fuel—on par with gasoline. The company also produces energy products including propane and lubricants, and owns two lubricant brands: Cenex and others. Ranking #33 among U.S. manufacturers is Nucor Corporation, with $36.48 billion in revenue in 2021. It is the largest steel producer in the United States—and the world’s 14th-largest steelmaker in 2021—as well as the largest scrap steel recycler in the U.S. Nucor primarily uses recycled scrap steel to manufacture new steel. In 2021, Nucor produced 25.69 million metric tons of steel, of which 20.296 million metric tons were sold to customers; the remaining 5.394 million metric tons were used internally for manufacturing steel products. Moreover, in 2021, the company recycled as much as 20.4 million metric tons of scrap steel.

How Did China Achieve Coal-to-Ethanol Conversion—Turning ‘Coal’ into ‘Wine’?

Ethanol can also be chemically synthesized from ethylene derived via petroleum cracking; however, this method is even more costly than biomass fermentation, rendering it uncompetitive in the marketplace. (II) How Did China Achieve Coal-to-Ethanol Conversion? China ranks first globally in both coal reserves and coal consumption, and is also the world’s largest steel producer. Steel production relies heavily on coke, and coke production inevitably yields coke oven gas—a byproduct composed predominantly of hydrogen and methane. For example, in 2016, China’s coke output totaled 449.11 million metric tons. Assuming 430 cubic meters of coke oven gas are generated per ton of coke, China produced approximately 193.117 billion cubic meters of coke oven gas that year. By contrast, current utilization rates for coke oven gas stand at only about 70%, and most of this usage remains low-end and undeveloped—such as direct combustion as fuel. If instead directed toward anhydrous ethanol production, coke oven gas utilization could increase gas sales revenue for producers by roughly 30%. Moreover, every 1 million metric tons of coke production yields enough coke oven gas to produce 100,000 metric tons of anhydrous ethanol. This would significantly reduce China’s current dependence on several million metric tons of grain annually for ethanol production. Simultaneously, it would help alleviate China’s 60% petroleum import dependency, offering an alternative strategic pathway—benefiting national food security, energy security, ecological safety, and enterprise profitability alike. Currently, there are four primary technological routes for coal-to-ethanol conversion, as illustrated below. (Major Technical Pathways for Coal-to-Ethanol Conversion) Route 4 involves direct microbial fermentation of syngas into ethanol. However, due to slow reaction kinetics and low yield, it remains unsuitable for large-scale industrial production. The United States has researched this route for decades, yet progress has been limited—chiefly because identifying highly efficient fermentative microorganisms remains a major challenge. Its advantages include minimal pollution, low environmental impact, and broad feedstock availability: many currently underutilized plant celluloses—such as crop straws—can be gasified into syngas and then fermented into ethanol. Route 3 entails catalytic synthesis of ethyl acetate directly from syngas, followed by hydrogenation to produce ethanol. Yet catalyst selectivity remains poor, reaction mixtures are complex, separation is difficult, and platinum-group precious metals are required—making this route prohibitively expensive. Thus, it remains confined to small-scale experimental trials. Route 2 converts syngas into methanol, then via carbonylation into acetic acid, and finally into ethanol. This is currently the dominant industrial route for coal-to-ethanol production. It comprises two sub-pathways: one directly hydrogenates acetic acid to ethanol via catalysis; the other first esterifies acetic acid into ethyl acetate, then hydrogenates it to ethanol. The former was developed in the United States; the latter, in China. Both sub-pathways enable large-scale industrial production and leverage China’s surplus acetic acid production capacity—adding value to existing acetic acid synthesis lines. The U.S.-developed direct catalytic hydrogenation process is relatively mature and has already entered large-scale industrial application—but its drawback lies in requiring rhodium—a precious metal—as catalyst, resulting in high costs. Additionally, water is generated as a byproduct in the acetic acid hydrogenation reaction, necessitating additional dehydration steps to obtain anhydrous ethanol.

REX American Resources Reports Record Q1 2026 Earnings with $0.56 EPS and Strong Ethanol Production Expansion

May 28, 2026

REX American Resources reported record Q1 2026 earnings with $0.56 EPS, doubling net income to $18.5 million due to tax credits and lower corn costs. The company is advancing ethanol expansion and carbon capture projects while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

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