U.S. Manufacturing Expands at Fastest Rate in Three Years!

Manufacturing is growing in the United States, and doing so at a faster pace than has been seen since 2014. Here at Astro Machine Works, we want to share the good news with our existing and future customers.

The 2017 Surge in the U.S. Manufacturing Industry

Bloomberg recently reported a 57.7 reading of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Index, marking its sixth consecutive advance. The ISM Index monitors employment, production, inventories, new orders, and more–any number above 50 indicates growth.

That number was above the 56.2 average that economists had predicted in a Bloomberg survey. In fact, the ISM indicated orders were at the highest in three years. Even a production gauge was at a higher read than back in March 2011. These strong numbers are generating optimism by industry experts that this growth will continue throughout the year.

Why is the U.S. Manufacturing Industry Expanding?

The upswing for U.S. manufacturing illustrates that businesses are more open to investments and that the labor market is settling down. Another factor relates to the robotics field. With the addition of robots to the floors of more manufacturing companies, one might assume that this would mean more worker layoffs. However, numbers show the opposite, meaning more jobs for industry. In April, there were just over 12 million manufacturing laborers in the U.S., an increase of 25,000 positions from the previous year.

This increase is partially due to reshoring efforts made by many manufacturing companies. Focusing on manufacturing within the United States rather than offshoring to other countries, American manufacturers can reduce overall product costs resulting in an increase in U.S. manufacturing jobs.

From Where We Stand

Astro Machine Works is a proudly involved in the growing manufacturing industry. We promote several initiatives to strengthen U.S. manufacturing, including reshoring, STEM, and American Made Matters.

If you are in the energy, medical, pharmaceutical, food processing, aerospace, electronics/semiconductors, government, telecommunication, packaging, or general manufacturing industries, please contact us to find out how our custom machinery and high precision parts can help you today. Also, remember to follow our blog, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest industry developments!

Categories: American Manufacturing, Manufacturing, Robotics, STEM