Need More Skilled Labor for US Manufacturing Renaissance, Says Jay Timmons

Описание: Jay Timmons, President & CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, discusses the state of US manufacturing.

US industrial production rose in January by the most in nearly a year, fueled by a broad increase in manufacturing and another healthy advance in utility output.
The 0.7% increase in production at factories, mines and utilities followed a downwardly revised 0.2% gain a month earlier, Federal Reserve data showed Wednesday. 
Manufacturing output, which accounts for three-fourths of total industrial production, rose 0.6% — also the most since February 2025. The advance was broad and included strong gains in business equipment and consumer goods production.
The increase in factory production, which also reflected rebounds in output of both business and construction supplies, adds to other signs of a nascent recovery in manufacturing. With trade policy uncertainty starting to lift, companies may be taking advantage of favorable tax provisions and moving forward with capital spending plans.
By industry, production of computers and electronic products, machinery and motor vehicles increased in January. Output of nondurable goods also rose.
A separate report Wednesday showed orders for business equipment increased in December by more than projected, suggesting solid capital investment at the end of last year that will help underpin production. Among durable goods categories, orders climbed for communications equipment, computers, metals, electrical equipment and machinery. Bookings for motor vehicles rose by the most since June.
Other reports have indicated manufacturing is poised to pick up this year. Government data showed manufacturing employment increased in January for the first time since late 2024, while a report from the Institute for Supply Management indicated the strongest expansion in factory activity since 2022. nUS factory output increased by the most since early last year in the wake of firmer-than-expected equipment orders at the end of 2025, adding to evidence of newfound momentum for the nation’s manufacturers.
Production increased 0.6% in January, according to Federal Reserve data out Wednesday. While tarnished slightly by a downward revision in the prior month, the report showed broad strength across various categories and industry groups.
In a separate report from the Commerce Department, a key gauge of investment in equipment rose a larger-than-forecast 0.6% in December. The advance in those orders for non-military capital goods excluding commercial aircraft followed an upwardly revised 0.8% gain a month earlier that was twice as much as previously estimated.
US Manufacturing Production Rises by Most in Nearly a YearBroad advance followed healthy advance in capital orders in late 2025

While spending on artificial intelligence has been a key driver of investments recently, the latest data show early signs that more traditional areas of capital expenditures are starting to firm as well, Wells Fargo & Co economists Shannon Grein and Tim Quinlan said in a note. 
“Recent tax incentives in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are supportive of broader investment, and the early‑year pickup in commercial and industrial lending suggests firms are becoming incrementally more willing to finance capex beyond AI,” they wrote.
The latest figures are welcome news for President Donald Trump and his economic team, whose goal is to revitalize domestic manufacturing. The White House has pointed to pledges from a number of companies to make massive investments to expand US production.
January factory production was fueled not only by firm output of computers and electronic products — at the root of the AI boom — but also by machinery, metals and motor vehicles. The Fed’s so-called market group breakdown also showed strong gains in production of business equipment and consumer goods, as well as business and construction supplies.
The government’s durable goods report, meanwhile, illustrated non-defense capital goods shipments including aircraft, which feed directly into the equipment investment portion of the gross domestic product report, rose 1.8%.



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