Building to Win
An Infrastructure Agenda for Manufacturing Dominance
Infrastructure
Building to Win: an infrastructure agenda for manufacturing dominance.
Manufacturers move 13 million workers’ output across America every day — on roads, rails, waterways and runways that are straining under decades of underinvestment. Modern, reliable infrastructure is the backbone of manufacturing competitiveness. The NAM’s Building to Win agenda lays out how to deliver it.
Source: NAM, Building to Win: An Infrastructure Agenda for Manufacturing Dominance.
Data & Analysis
Mapping the manufacturing cost of congestion
Explore where congestion costs manufacturers the most — by region, rail hub, port and freight bottleneck. Enter an address to find the major freight bottlenecks within 75 miles.
Freight Bottleneck
*Roadway congestion cost estimate reflects the cost of congestion-related delays in freight movements sent and received by manufacturing businesses. Sources: NAM analysis; INRIX 2025 Global Traffic Scorecard; Bureau of Transportation Statistics; Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Where America must invest
A modern network for a manufacturing economy
From the factory floor to the port of export, manufacturers depend on every link in the chain. Building to Win calls for investment across the board.
Roads & Bridges
$684B roadway gap · $400B bridge backlog
The arteries of commerce. Closing the funding gap keeps goods — and the economy — moving.
Public Transit & Passenger Rail
$140.2B state-of-good-repair backlog
Reliable transit gets workers to the plant and connects manufacturing communities.
Freight Rail
1.6B tons moved each year
The most efficient way to move heavy goods over long distances — and a manufacturing workhorse.
Maritime & Ports
$13B a year in port delays
Modern ports and waterways keep exports competitive and supply chains resilient.
Aviation
$114B funding gap
Air cargo and a modern aviation system speed high-value manufacturing to market.
Water Systems
450,000 miles of mains past their useful life
Manufacturing runs on water. Aging systems put production and communities at risk.
“[The BUILD America 250 Act] reflects the needs of America’s manufacturers, including tremendous progress toward comprehensive permitting reform.” — Erin Streeter, NAM Executive Vice President
In action
Building to Win — and winning
Manufacturers’ early, sustained engagement is shaping the biggest surface-transportation package in years.
- February 2026The NAM launches Building to Win — a campaign for a robust surface transportation reauthorization paired with permitting reform.
- May 2026The NAM leads Infrastructure Week, hosting the opening reception and a permitting-reform and project-delivery roundtable.
- May 22, 2026The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee advances the NAM-driven BUILD America 250 Act by a bipartisan 62–2 vote.
- September 30, 2026Federal highway programs expire — the deadline driving manufacturers’ push to get reauthorization across the finish line.
Let’s build to win
Robust infrastructure investment and real permitting reform are essential to manufacturing strength. Explore the agenda and add your voice.
