San Antonio Truck Plant to Add Shift in Early 2027

The assembly plant will nearly double its daily production to meet rising demand for Class 8 trucks.

Updated on Oct. 21, 2026 in Trucks

Isometric editorial illustration of a heavy-duty truck chassis on an assembly stand, representing industrial manufacturing scale.
International Motors will add a second shift to its San Antonio assembly plant in early 2027 to address rising Class 8 truck demand. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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International Motors will add a second shift at its San Antonio assembly plant in early 2027 to boost production. The expansion follows significant year-over-year sales growth in the North American market.

Why it matters

The move is designed to satisfy an ongoing demand upcycle for Class 8 trucks and secure a larger share of the national market. Boosting local assembly capacity helps the manufacturer scale output to match recent sales surges.

The San Antonio facility is a 900,000-square-foot site that currently produces 100 trucks per day. Daily production is expected to nearly double once the new shift becomes fully operational in early 2027.

The players

International Motors

A manufacturer of heavy-duty vehicles that operates assembly plants in San Antonio and Mexico.

The details

International Motors is scaling operations by adding workforce capacity at the San Antonio assembly plant. This effort is supported by production adjustments at the company's Escobedo, Mexico facility, which is utilizing slack capacity to manage current requirements. The company began recruiting for the San Antonio site over the past few months to prepare for the shift transition.

Timeline

  1. 2022: The San Antonio assembly plant began operations.

  2. August 2025: The Escobedo plant produced 2,253 trucks.

  3. September 2025: The Escobedo plant produced 1,895 trucks.

  4. Late July 2026: First public indications of the second shift appeared.

  5. Early 2027: Planned introduction of the second shift.

The Home Front

This expansion reflects a broader trend of manufacturers increasing domestic assembly to meet the ongoing demand upcycle for North American Class 8 truck sales. It highlights the role of local industrial capacity in managing national supply chain requirements for heavy vehicle sectors.

Local residents should monitor job board listings if interested in the new employment opportunities accompanying the plant expansion. Homeowners in the area may also track regional economic growth indicators as the facility scales toward its new production goals.

The takeaway

The addition of a second shift marks a significant milestone for local industrial manufacturing in San Antonio. Residents can keep an eye on official company hiring notices for specific roles and application deadlines as the launch approaches in early 2027.

What happens next

The second shift at the San Antonio assembly plant is scheduled to begin in early 2027.

Further reading

For more industry news, visit our Trucks section.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Transport Topics.

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