AUSTIN—A decision by Samsung Electronics on the location of its new $17 billion U.S. chip plant was imminent, the judge for Texas’ Williamson County, which is in the running for the new factory, said on Thursday. “The decision is imminent. My experience with Samsung is that they move nimbly and swiftly,” County Judge Bill Gravell said during an interview with Reuters. Samsung has said it would start construction on the new 6-million-square-foot (557,418-sq-meter) plant in January, with production up and running by the end of 2024. The company has said no decision has been made and that it was also considering Williamson County’s southern neighbor Austin and sites in New York and California. The factory would mark Samsung’s second U.S. chip factory and comes at a time when the global auto industry faces a significant semiconductor shortage. Gravell is the county’s top elected official and has been in charge of …