In our current age of on-again/off-again tariffs and a new war in the Middle East causing the cost of everything from food to gasoline to skyrocket, it seems like all of us are getting a daily lesson in the painful truth of the economic concept of supply and demand. There’s another place where the law
Remember the good ol’ days when Claude was your uncle from Wisconsin, Copilot was the guy helping fly the plane, and Gemini was your astrological sign if you were born in early summer? Today, these names—along with ChatGPT—are the top artificial intelligence (AI) assistants available on computers and smartphones everywhere. Just a few years ago,
Between the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing trade wars being waged by the Trump administration via tariffs, the importance of manufacturing in the United States has once again taken center stage. To keep up with domestic demand for things like high-tech semiconductors, it’s more important than ever that as many things
Are you still digging out from the snow and ice that swept across the country over the weekend? If you live east of the Mississippi River, then the answer is probably a resounding “Yes!” From the Midwest and Northeast to wide swaths of the Southeast, Winter Storm Fern wreaked havoc across dozens of states. Unfortunately,
If manufacturers summarized the last decade, many would choose one word that simultaneously sums up their experience yet doesn’t seem powerful enough to convey the magnitude of their struggles: challenging. From the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic that snarled supply chains around the globe to the current administration’s on-again, off-again foreign trade policy driven by fluctuating tariffs,
The manufacturing sector in the United States continues to face an ongoing labor shortage that shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal a consistent pattern of nearly a half-million open manufacturing positions every month. As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, the current administration’s
“Made in America!” Those three words evoke a range of thoughts and emotions, from simple patriotism to a belief in a higher-quality product. They’ve also become a bit of a political rallying cry. Since the beginning of 2025, American manufacturing has been in the national spotlight more than ever, largely due to the Trump administration’s
Do you want to see more manufacturing jobs in the United States? Do you want to work one of those manufacturing jobs? For Americans, the answer to these two questions is quite different and seemingly contradictory. Welcome to the paradox that is modern manufacturing in the U.S. The on-again, off-again Trump administration tariff announcements sparking
What’s the biggest challenge facing manufacturers in 2025? A survey of companies would likely yield a variety of answers, from inflation and fickle customer demand to productivity and ever-changing technology. But there’s one ongoing problem that would top the list for many manufacturers: filling open positions with highly skilled workers. Manufacturers call it the skill
American manufacturers need workers. For years, they’ve struggled to fill open positions and, while some of their efforts have led to improved recruitment, there are still hundreds of thousands of open positions across the country. Thanks to the work of manufacturers and educators over the last decade, however, more students than ever are open to
Anyone tuned in to the state of manufacturing in America has been aware of the perennial thorn in the side of manufacturers everywhere: the skills gap. For many years now, manufacturers have struggled to fill open positions due to a shortage of workers with the skills needed to work with and alongside new advanced automation
