The White House releases report on U.S. manufacturing.
The White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) released a 14-page report on October 10th titled “The State of American Manufacturing,” assessing the state of the American manufacturing sector during President Donald Trump ‘s second term. The report states that tariff policies, investment incentives, and encouragement to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. are supporting job growth, wage increases, factory construction investment, and exports.
According to the CEA, the U.S. manufacturing sector will add 72,000 jobs from the beginning of 2026. Of these, the durable goods sector will add 101,000 jobs, with metals manufacturing adding 21,000 and transportation equipment adding 17,000. The CEA compares these results to the final two years of former President Joe Biden’s term, when the manufacturing sector lost more than 200,000 jobs.
Data compiled by the CEA from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Federal Reserve Board, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, S&P Global, and corporate investment announcements shows that the manufacturing sector is expected to lose an average of 2,000 jobs per month in 2023, 15,000 jobs per month in 2024, and 9,000 jobs per month in 2025. In 2026, the sector is projected to gain an average of 8,000 jobs per month.
Regarding manufacturing activity, the US manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published by S&P Global reached 55.9 points in September 2026, the highest level since President Trump returned to the White House. According to the report, the manufacturing sector has recorded 14 consecutive months of expansion.
Salaries and hiring demand are improving.
The CEA reported that nominal wages for manufacturing workers increased by 7.9% since January 2025. For non-managerial workers, the increase reached 9.2%. After adjusting for inflation, the real wages for this group increased by approximately $2,486 per year. In the construction industry, the corresponding increase for non-managerial or supervisory workers was $3,824 per year.
For all private sector workers, the CEA projected real wages to increase by the equivalent of $791 per year as of August 2026. The report compares this figure to a $2,938 decrease over four years under former President Joe Biden’s administration. Non-managerial workers in the mining and logging industries alone saw real wage increases of the equivalent of $4,304 per year.
Employment indicators also show a shift. The number of job openings in the manufacturing sector increased by 25% in one year, while the number of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs decreased by 25%. Overtime hours increased by approximately 5.3%.
The report also highlighted the tax deduction policy for overtime pay. More than 29 million Americans claimed this deduction during tax season, with the average deduction exceeding $3,100.
In the construction sector, the number of jobs in professional construction outside the residential sector has increased by approximately 111,000 since President Trump took office; the total number of jobs in the entire construction industry has increased by about 100,000. The CEA predicts that current factory construction activity could contribute to expanding U.S. manufacturing capacity in the coming years.
Businesses are expanding production and investing in factories.
The report cites several examples of businesses expanding their operations. Ketchie Inc. in North Carolina increased its workforce by 25% after purchasing additional precision machinery. Jergens in Ohio reported that investment deduction incentives helped fuel its expansion plans in Illinois; 83% of the company’s hourly workers now voluntarily work overtime.
In Washington state, aluminum shipbuilder Munson Boats restarted an expansion plan that had been halted in 2020. The project adds 6,000 square feet of production space and is expected to create 15 new jobs. Meanwhile, Vermeer in Iowa plans to invest millions of dollars in machining centers and hire 150-200 additional employees.
Regarding large-scale investments, CEA stated that investment commitments announced in the US under the Trump administration exceeded $11 trillion, focusing on sectors such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and metals.
Among the projects mentioned, Micron Technology committed to investing $250 billion in electronic memory manufacturing facilities in Idaho, Virginia, and New York. Apple announced plans to invest $600 billion in the US.
Pharmaceutical company GSK announced a $30 billion investment in research, development, and manufacturing, while Gilead added $11 billion to its US factories. Stellantis also announced a $13 billion investment program, described as the largest in the company’s history.
The figures above represent announced investment commitments or plans, and do not mean that all capital has been disbursed or that the projects are operational.
Industrial output and exports increased.
According to data from the US Federal Reserve Board, semiconductor and electronic circuit board production increased by 22% year-on-year. Commercial vehicle manufacturing increased by 16.1%, passenger transport equipment by 11.2%, and computers and electronic products by 8.7%.
Other sectors also recorded increases, including defense and aerospace equipment up 7.1%, industrial machinery up 6.3%, and aviation and other transport equipment up 4.2%.
Gross domestic product data shows that the value added of the durable goods manufacturing sector increased by 8.3% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year; the non-durable goods manufacturing sector increased by 9.5%, while the mining sector increased by 31%.
Real private fixed investment in the first six months of 2026 increased at an annualized rate of 6.9%, higher than the 3.8% of 2025 and 2.3% of 2024. The CEA used this figure to highlight the upward trend in investment in manufacturing facilities and equipment.
In the field of foreign trade, US goods exports are projected to reach a record monthly level of $220 billion in April 2026. In the first eight months of the year, the value of goods exports increased by 15% compared to the same period in 2025 and was 20% higher than the same period in 2024.
Several product categories recorded significant export increases, including computers (up 46%), computer accessories (up 52%), semiconductors (up 26%), telecommunications equipment (up 14%), civil aircraft (up 16%), and civil aircraft engines (up 19%). Aluminum exports increased by 34%, copper by 25%, while industrial raw materials and supplies increased by 26%.
Conversely, imports of production materials, excluding automobiles, increased by 39% year-on-year. Specifically, computer imports increased by 95%, semiconductors by 84%, civil aircraft by 66%, and specialized mining equipment by 37%. Imports of consumer goods decreased by 20%.
The CEA believes this development reflects an increase in imports of machinery and equipment for manufacturing, and also indicates a shift in the structure of US demand for goods.
