Make It: Frank Conversations on the Future of Manufacturing
Oct 13, 2026 · 18 min · 9 segments
Billions are flowing into new factories. AI and automation are changing how products are made. But manufacturing employment has barely moved. Is American manufacturing really coming back? Producer…
Ethan KarpHostMargaret KashmirHostTell me, is American manufacturing stronger today than it was two years ago?
Certainly all of our data shows that we have added technologies and that companies I talk to are thinking much more expansively about AI and the future.
And I think there's a lot of evidence to suggest they're going even faster on those markers.
And when you add the turbulence of everything we've dealt with, supply chains, tariffs, et cetera, ups and downs, depending upon who you talk to, I'm not sure the story is one of an explosion in the last two years.
But we keep hearing from politicians, from the media that we're looking at a manufacturing comeback.
But if you look at some of the indicators we typically talk about, factory orders, output of the industry, jobs created or lost, construction spent on building factories.
Right now, when I look at some of those numbers, some of them point in different directions.
What are the numbers telling you about where we're at right now? whether it's a comeback, whether it's a snapback, whether it's just a stable lull, wherever we are, what's the data telling us?
The construction numbers are way up, but a lot of that might be things related to AI, things related to chips, all good, but not necessarily indicative of an overhaul of a comeback of all manufacturing.
Our own data shows us that the amount of technology that small and medium companies and large companies are putting in is increasing.
The real question is, how is it compared to other things going on outside of our country? Because the comeback that we're seeing has to be us winning over Versus other countries, versus other regions.
And I think it's really hard for our manufacturers to tell when they're growing slash adding technology, becoming more competitive versus just treading water because everything they're doing is being outpaced by others.
Tell me, is American manufacturing stronger today than it was two years ago?
Certainly all of our data shows that we have added technologies and that companies I talk to are thinking much more expansively about AI and the future.
And I think there's a lot of evidence to suggest they're going even faster on those markers.
And when you add the turbulence of everything we've dealt with, supply chains, tariffs, et cetera, ups and downs, depending upon who you talk to, I'm not sure the story is one of an explosion in the last two years.
But we keep hearing from politicians, from the media that we're looking at a manufacturing comeback.
But if you look at some of the indicators we typically talk about, factory orders, output of the industry, jobs created or lost, construction spent on building factories.
Right now, when I look at some of those numbers, some of them point in different directions.
What are the numbers telling you about where we're at right now? whether it's a comeback, whether it's a snapback, whether it's just a stable lull, wherever we are, what's the data telling us?
The construction numbers are way up, but a lot of that might be things related to AI, things related to chips, all good, but not necessarily indicative of an overhaul of a comeback of all manufacturing.
Our own data shows us that the amount of technology that small and medium companies and large companies are putting in is increasing.
The real question is, how is it compared to other things going on outside of our country? Because the comeback that we're seeing has to be us winning over Versus other countries, versus other regions.
And I think it's really hard for our manufacturers to tell when they're growing slash adding technology, becoming more competitive versus just treading water because everything they're doing is being outpaced by others.
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