America's factories are booming. The problem is finding people to run them.
U.S. manufacturing hit a record $2.91 trillion in 2024, and foreign companies have poured trillions more into American plants. But nearly half the jobs the industry will need by 2033 could go unfilled.
Key points
- U.S. manufacturing value added reached a record $2.91 trillion in 2024, according to a new report by MISUMI Americas, an industrial parts supplier.
- Factory construction spending hit $235.6 billion in 2024, nearly triple the $81.9 billion spent in 2021, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
- The manufacturing industry will need 3.8 million workers by 2033, and 1.9 million of those positions could go unfilled, according to The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte.
- Reshoring and foreign investment have produced more than 2 million announced U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2010, with 88% in 2024 tied to semiconductors, electronics, and electric vehicles.
- MISUMI Americas has endorsed a bill, H.R. 9097, that would send American workers abroad for six to twelve months of hands-on skills training.
American manufacturing is having a moment. Output is at an all-time high, foreign companies are committing serious money to build and buy plants on U.S. soil, and the ISM PMI, a monthly index that measures how busy purchasing managers at factories are, hit 54 in May 2026, its strongest reading since 2022. A score above 50 means the sector is growing.
The numbers from MISUMI Americas, reported by The Robot Report, are striking. Factory construction spending in 2024 was $235.6 billion, nearly three times what it was in 2021. Semiconductor plants and electric vehicle battery factories, both pushed along by the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, drove most of that surge. Foreign companies have now committed $2.42 trillion to U.S. manufacturing, making it the single largest sector for foreign direct investment, at more than 42% of all inbound investment. Japan alone accounts for over $819 billion of that total.
If U.S. manufacturing were its own country, it would be the eighth-largest economy on earth.
But there is a catch.
Where will all the workers come from?
The honest answer is: nobody knows yet. The industry will need 3.8 million workers by 2033. About 2.8 million of those slots open up as older workers retire. The rest come from new jobs, including roles tied directly to the CHIPS Act and related legislation. The worry is that roughly 1.9 million positions could simply go unfilled.
More than 65% of manufacturers already name attracting and keeping staff as their single biggest challenge.
Gen Z workers, those now on the factory floor, change jobs roughly every 2.3 years, and manufacturing turnover has topped 40% annually in some settings. Andy Sherman, senior vice president for operations and supply chain at MISUMI Americas, says that generation wants purpose, financial security, and a visible path to grow, not just a wage. The good news is that vocational college enrolment has grown 20% since spring 2020, and undergraduate certificate programmes have grown for four consecutive years. The bad news is that total enrolment still sits under 1 million students nationwide.
To close the gap faster, MISUMI Americas has endorsed H.R. 9097, the American Manufacturing Revitalization Exchange Program Act. The bill, introduced by Representative Bill Huizenga and currently before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, would give workers a stipend to spend six to twelve months training in countries like Japan, Germany, and South Korea, where advanced manufacturing training has decades of history behind it.
Supporters include the National Association of Manufacturers, United Steelworkers, BMW Group, and the American Automotive Policy Council.
The capital is there. The buildings are going up. The one thing that cannot be automated on a tight deadline is a skilled, experienced workforce.
