Manufacturing
How to read manufacturing jobs data
The factory employment number that moves markets is a survey estimate with a revision cycle — here is what it can and cannot tell you.
Owen Blackwood · February 14, 2026
Manufacturing
Manufacturing covers production as it is actually run: capacity utilization, tooling and retooling costs, automation and robotics payback, skilled labor availability, quality and yield, and decisions to open, relocate or close plants. Coverage names the suppliers and components involved. Intended for operations leaders, engineers and investors in industrial firms.
Manufacturing covers production as it is actually run: capacity utilization, tooling and retooling costs, automation and robotics payback, skilled labor availability, quality and yield, and decisions to open, relocate or close plants. Coverage names the suppliers and components involved. Intended for operations leaders, engineers and investors in industrial firms.
Manufacturing
Reshoring a plant costs more than the sticker
Bringing production back to the US means paying four cost layers most feasibility studies understate.
Owen Blackwood · January 22, 2026
Manufacturing
Section 232 tariffs quietly steer steel capacity
National-security tariffs on steel and aluminum have become the main lever shaping how much US mills invest, and what they build.
Owen Blackwood · December 30, 2025