In the U.S. infrastructure and manufacturing climate today, domestic content with full traceability is increasingly a prerequisite – especially when you’re trying to land municipal or government contracts.
Over the course of the last decade we’ve seen the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), as well as evolving Buy America rules under FHWA and other agencies. Naturally, this legislation significantly impacts OEMs who supply components to infrastructure projects. More than ever you have to deliver verifiable proof that parts were made in the U.S., using U.S.-sourced iron and steel, and/or qualifying domestic components.
Enter RAM Specialty Fabrications: quality contract metal fabrication for American infrastructure projects since 1946.
RAM’s Lean, In-House Philosophy: The Foundation of Traceability
Traceability starts with the sourcing of your raw materials/components and follows through to the factory floor. At RAM, our approach is to integrate as many fabrication steps as possible under our direct control rather than relying on third-party subcontractors whose record keeping may not align with the rigorous demands of future Buy America audits and related requirements.
From raw material receipt through final finishing, we perform all of the steps in-house, keeping your production process quality-focused and fully traceable:
- Laser cutting
- CNC machining
- High-speed punching
- Precision bending and forming
- Welding (incl. robotic welding) and assembly
RAM’s 45,000 sq-ft facility is outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and technology, with extremely agile manufacturing capabilities. More importantly, our company is backed by more than 75 years of superior American craftsmanship and expertise in precision metal fabrication.
FHWA’s New Manufactured-Product Rules – What Changes October 1, 2025 and 2026
One of the most consequential rule changes ahead is the tightening of FHWA’s Buy America rules for manufactured products. Under the new final rule announced January 2025, FHWA will phase out its long-standing waiver of manufactured-product requirements, further refining the domestic manufacturing requirements for future federal-aid highway projects.
There will be a two-phase implementation of the new rules:
- From October 1, 2025: Any manufactured product’s final assembly must occur in the U.S. in order to be eligible for use in federal-aid projects.
- From October 1, 2026: In addition to the U.S. final assembly requirement, at least 55% of the cost of all components of the manufactured product must be from U.S.-mined, produced, or manufactured inputs.
It is important to note that these new manufactured-product requirements do not replace the existing iron and steel (I&S) Buy America rules. Those remain in force and must be satisfied separately.
What the Updated FHWA Rules Mean for Infrastructure OEMs and Contractors:
- The new final assembly requirement will bar use of any product where the final join or integration occurs abroad, even if subcomponents are domestic.
- The 55% domestic component requirement (starting Oct 2026) forces more sourcing decisions to be domestic or risk failing compliance.
- Suppliers that had previously relied on global value chains or offshored final integration will need to re-architect their supply chains or find domestic final-assembly partners.
RAM Is Ready to Help You Adapt
Because RAM already performs full in-house fabrication and assembly, the shift to stricter final assembly rules is far less disruptive. Our shop is U.S.-based, meaning our final welding, assembly, and finishing occur here, which helps you satisfy the first-phase requirement in 2025 automatically for any products sourced from us.
Furthermore, our transparent component-level traceability dovetails well with the 55% component content test. We can help you build bills of materials and cost breakdowns that isolate cost contributions, so your OEM or prime contractor can see which components count toward the 55% threshold. We can opt to subcontract only domestically compliant components, or in other cases produce those components ourselves – whichever is the most cost-effective solution for your specific project.
Get in touch and we’ll get to work on orchestrating the most efficient contract metal fabrication plan that keeps your products quality-focused, traceable, and compliant.