News & Insights

The newly established House of Representatives’ AI and Energy Working Group is seeking information on the increase in energy demand we can expect due to the growing use of artificial intelligence (POLITICO Pro, subscription).

What’s going on: Group lead Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND)—who was North Dakota’s head utility regulator for more than a decade prior to being elected to Congress last year—discussed the new working group with us Tuesday at NAM headquarters.

• Rep. Fedorchak spoke at an event at the NAM on how the U.S. can strengthen the electrical grid, advance permitting reform and support manufacturers investing in the latest energy technologies.
• The working group issued a request for information on Monday, “invit[ing] stakeholders to provide written responses” to questions under “three pillars,” according to the RFI document.

The details: These pillars are the following:

• American Energy Dominance and AI Energy Demands: The RFI “seeks to identify strategies to secure a stable, affordable and sustainable domestic energy supply capable of powering next-generation AI infrastructure.” Subtopics on which respondents are asked to inform the working group include oil and gas, nuclear, solar, geothermal and other power production methods.
• Securing the Energy Grid: A resilient, secure electrical grid is “essential” for AI systems and the larger “digital economy,” the document says. Permitting reform, electricity generation and baseload power are possible subtopics here.
• Strategic Competition: Outpacing China: “In an era of intensifying global rivalry, ensuring American technological and energy leadership is critical.” Some of the subtopics under this pillar are manufacturing, critical minerals and chips. 

Why it’s important: “To be AI dominant, we must first be energy dominant,” Rep. Fedorchak said in a statement, according to POLITICO Pro.

• “In 2024, data centers accounted for 4.3% of total U.S. power demand, and analysts predict this could climb to as much as 12% by 2030—more electricity than the entire state of Texas uses today. Yet the U.S. isn’t scaling up reliable baseload power quickly enough to support this rapid growth.”

How to respond: Responses are due by May 15 and should be emailed to [email protected].

Get ready! Manufacturing’s leading annual event on accelerating digital transformation is right around the corner.

What’s going on: Rethink—held by the Manufacturing Leadership Council on Marco Island, Florida, each June—is a must-attend conference for anyone interested in Manufacturing 4.0 and where it’s headed (The MLC is the digital transformation division of the NAM.)

• This year’s event takes place June 15–18 at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort.

Why you should go: Rethink attendees will get an inside look at the cutting-edge processes and technologies transforming manufacturing today—directly from those creating and implementing them. They’ll also get a chance to:

• Consult with peers on manufacturing’s most critical initiatives, including smart factories and digital production, resilient supply networks and analytics and data mastery;
• Participate in real-time discussions and one-on-one meetings to help them understand how various solutions can solve their business problems;
• Hear from industry leaders and experts during panel discussions, executive interviews and more;
• Interact and collaborate with peers during interactive “think tank” sessions; and
• Hear from the MLC’s event partners during Rethink’s exclusive VIP Tour.

Who will be there: Scheduled speakers include Siemens USA President and CEO Barbara Humpton, Eaton Vice President of Industry 4.0 Craig Sutton, Hershey Company Vice President of Manufacturing, Operations Technology and Supply Chain Strategy Will Bonifant, Rockwell Automation Senior Vice President of Intelligent Devices Tessa Myers and many more.

The gala: Closing out the packed three-day event is the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala, at which the MLC will recognize award finalists and winners of the Future of Manufacturing Award, the Manufacturing Leader of the Year, the Small/Medium Enterprise Manufacturer of the Year and the Large Enterprise Manufacturer of the Year. The gala will take place on the evening of June 18.

Attend: Register online here for Rethink 2025. (NAM members get a discount at checkout.) Questions? Send them to [email protected].

If Congress doesn’t act soon, manufacturers could face higher costs—not just due to the new tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico, but from expiring tax provisions, too, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons told the Houston Business Journal (subscription) in an interview during the first leg of the NAM’s 2025 Competing to Win Tour. The interview was published late last week.

A quick recap: Tariffs on Chinese imports went into effect last month, and tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico began last Tuesday.

• Last Thursday, President Trump signed two executive orders adjusting the tariffs for Mexican and Canadian imports that qualify under the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement, allowing them to enter the U.S. duty-free. Goods that cannot claim USMCA preferential treatment are subject to the new tariffs.

Why it’s important: “With some tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China in effect, manufacturers and consumers could be facing higher prices as the industry is heavily reliant on imports of goods the U.S. does not manufacture,” the HBJ noted.

• “Trade is very important to manufacturers,” Timmons told the publication, adding that investments in domestic supply chains and manufacturing can take years to plan and develop, something that tariff policy should take into account.

The tax angle: The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—which President Trump first laid out in a speech to the NAM Board during the same year—contained pro-growth tax provisions that were like “rocket fuel” for the manufacturing industry. But the continuation of those provisions is at stake: some of them have expired already, harming manufacturers, and others are scheduled to sunset at the end of this year.

What should be done: The impact of tariffs on manufacturers and consumers can be mitigated and the problem of expiring tax policies solved with a commonsense strategy from the administration and Congress, Timmons told the HBJ.

• On tariffs, there needs to “be some sort of a runway to allow us to start lower and then perhaps ramp up over time to give manufacturers the ability to pivot and make those long-term investment decisions here in the United States,” he said. “If [tariffs] are implemented in a very thoughtful, common-sense and strategic way, the impact on manufacturers will be minimized.”
• As for the tax provisions set to be eliminated, congressional leaders must remain focused on keeping them. “When President Trump signed those reforms in 2017, the following year, we had the best job creation in manufacturing that we’ve had in this country in 21 years,” Timmons said.

Manufacturers have a new opportunity to connect with students and encourage them to explore careers in manufacturing. The Manufacturing Institute (the NAM’s workforce development and education affiliate) has developed a gamified experience called Innovators Quest, specially designed to introduce students to manufacturing-related skills in a fun-filled format.

The experience is made up of four realms in a board game format with hands-on building challenges. As they seek to recover the “Crystal of Innovation,” students in grades 4 through 9 can try their hands at 3D printing, robotics and other crucial skills. Manufacturers can sponsor Innovators Quest sets, which they can take to schools, afterschool programs, local community events, Boys and Girls Clubs and more.

The quest: The conceit of the game is that the aforementioned crystal has fractured, and the students must fix it by completing four challenges in whichever order they choose.

• While the students play collaboratively, completing challenges together, they all take on the role of different innovator characters who have different mixes of manufacturing-related strengths, including “analytical, visual, intuitive, strategic and extroverted.”
• “We want all students to see themselves in at least one of these characters,” MI Director of Student Engagement Jen White explained to us.

The challenges: The four challenges ingeniously explore manufacturing concepts while still entertaining the participants, as the writer of this article can vouch.

• One challenge instructs students to build paper airplanes. But the lesson isn’t just about building—it’s about perfecting and testing your products. The players must make 10 airplanes following two separate designs, then put together an electric plane launcher. Finally, they test their airplanes to see if they sail the necessary 6 feet to “fly away” with a handful of the crystal fragments. Skills and concepts learned: collaboration, iteration, precision, electromechanical building, aerodynamics, following directions and testing.
• A second challenge draws on the principles of additive manufacturing. Players are asked to use 3D pens (which dispense a line of malleable plastic that can be made into shapes or figures) to construct the pieces of a bridge over which the crystal fragments must be transported. Skills and concepts learned: additive manufacturing, precision, following a blueprint, welding parts together, collaborating on different pieces and structural integrity.

We won’t spoil the other two realms, but they involve a similar blend of fun challenges and manufacturing skills exploration—including the construction of a small robotic toy and a test of deductive reasoning.

The bottom line: “Innovators Quest was developed based on proven approaches to empower manufacturing employers to engage students early and often,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee. “By sparking their interest in skills needed in modern manufacturing, this student engagement tool illustrates the limitless possibilities of the many careers in our industry. The time to invest in our future workforce is now.”

• “Innovators Quest is an important initiative that will provide students with early knowledge about the variety of opportunities for a career in manufacturing and highlights the value of teamwork, collaboration and communication in the production environment,” said American Honda Motor Co. Executive Vice President Bob Nelson. “We’re proud to continue our partnership with the Manufacturing Institute to build that future workforce.”

Learn more: Learn more about Innovators Quest and how your company can sponsor a kit to build manufacturing career awareness in your community. To secure a sponsorship before the 2025–2026 school year begins, contact [email protected].

Manufacturers are increasingly worried about the future of trade and rising raw material costs, according to the Q1 2025 NAM Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey.
 
What’s going on: In the most recent survey, conducted from Feb. 11 to Feb. 28, trade uncertainties moved to the top of the list of manufacturers’ concerns—with 76.2% of respondents citing them as their primary worry. Increased raw material costs came in second, cited by 62.3% of those surveyed.

• In fact, manufacturers expect prices on their companies’ product lines to go up by 3.6% in the next year, an increase from 2.3% in Q4 2024 and the highest since Q3 2022, when inflation was more than 8%.
• Manufacturers also anticipate the cost of raw materials and other inputs to rise 5.5% in the next year, the highest expected rate of increase since Q2 2022, when inflation was between 8% and 9%.
• Manufacturers foresee export sales to increase just 0.1% in the next year. That’s the lowest anticipated rise since Q2 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In addition, the percentage of manufacturers with a positive outlook for their company inched down from the last quarter, to 69.7% from 70.9%.

Taxes: Manufacturers also feel strongly that their businesses need the “rocket fuel” of the tax reform extension. If Congress fails to extend pro-manufacturing provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017:

• 69.35% of respondents said they would delay capital equipment purchases;
• 45.23% would delay hiring;
• 44.72% would pause operations expansions;
• 41.71% would limit R&D investment; and
• 40.20% would curb employee wages or benefits increases.

Our take: “The pressure of increased costs, trade instability and sluggish demand is dampening the sector’s momentum, making it more difficult for manufacturers to plan, invest and hire,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons wrote in a social post Thursday.

• “We are calling for a comprehensive manufacturing strategy that includes a commonsense trade policy in addition to making President Trump’s 2017 tax reforms permanent and more competitive, securing regulatory certainty, expediting permitting reform to unleash American energy dominance and key manufacturing projects and increasing the talent pool.”

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Manufacturers released its Q1 2025 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, revealing growing concerns over trade uncertainties and increased raw material costs. Trade uncertainties surged to the top of manufacturers’ challenges, cited by 76.2% of respondents, jumping 20 percentage points from Q4 2024 and 40 percentage points from Q3 of last year. Increased raw material costs came in second, cited by 62.3% of respondents.

Trade-related challenges resulted in a small drop in manufacturers’ optimism: in the Q1 survey, 69.7% of survey respondents felt positive about their company’s outlook, down slightly from 70.9% in Q4 2024.

The survey underscores the immediate need for President Trump and Congress to implement a comprehensive manufacturing strategy that includes making President Trump’s 2017 tax reforms permanent and more competitive. If Congress fails to act now on extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 69.35% of survey respondents said they would delay purchasing capital equipment, while 45.23% would hold off on hiring, 44.72% would stall expansion of operations, 41.71% would limit R&D investments and 40.20% would curb increases in employee wages or benefits.

“The pressure of increased costs, trade instability and sluggish demand is dampening the sector’s momentum, making it more difficult for manufacturers to plan, invest and hire,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “We need greater predictability with a phase-in period for manufacturers to adjust to new trade realities, while also establishing clear exemptions for critical inputs—enabling reciprocity in manufacturing trade.

“Congress and the Trump administration must take decisive action to support manufacturers by providing increased certainty and clarity while implementing measures to ease the burden of rising costs. Our industry is counting on President Trump to make manufacturing in the United States greater than ever before, which is why we are calling for a comprehensive manufacturing strategy that includes a commonsense trade policy in addition to making President Trump’s 2017 tax reforms permanent and more competitive, securing regulatory certainty, expediting permitting reform to unleash American energy dominance and key manufacturing projects and increasing the talent pool.”

Key survey findings:

• Manufacturers expect raw material prices and other input costs to rise 5.5% over the next year. This marks the highest anticipated rate of increase since Q2 2022, when inflation hovered between 8% and 9%.
• Manufacturers expect prices on their company’s product line to increase 3.6% over the next 12 months, up from 2.3% in Q4 and the highest level since Q3 2022 when inflation was still more than 8%.
• Manufacturers expect export sales to increase just 0.1% over the next 12 months, the lowest level since Q2 2020—the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—highlighting challenges in global trade and demand.

The NAM releases these results to the public each quarter. Further information on the survey is available here.

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.93 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 53% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.

A day after President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress in his second term, the industry remains on edge amid the growing uncertainty of what’s being called a trade war by some in Washington.

What Congress is saying: We’re starting to see public comments from members of Congress on various topics in the president’s speech on Tuesday. Here’s what they’re saying.

Tax reform: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) committed yesterday to delivering a comprehensive tax bill to President Trump by Memorial Day, according to MarketWatch. Echoing NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons’ repeated calls for a swift tax deal, Chairman Smith emphasized the urgency of providing certainty to small businesses and working families, stating, “Failure is not an option.”

• “[W]e have to move this one big, beautiful bill as quickly as possible,” he said.
• In recent weeks, Timmons has leveraged the NAM’s public platform extensively—including through the NAM State of Manufacturing Address, television and radio interviews across the country, social media and op-eds in Ohio and Florida—to press Congress to act now and make the 2017 tax reforms permanent.

CHIPS: New Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), the former lieutenant governor of the state, expressed support for the CHIPS and Science Act, emphasizing its bipartisan backing and importance of national security. “For the economic and national security of America, we need to make chips in the USA—I believe this is part of an America First agenda,” he wrote in a statement provided to The Columbus Dispatch.

• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) indicated to Punchbowl that nothing would be discussed on the CHIPS and Science Act until the president’s FY 26 budget.
• Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) said that the president’s mention of the act in his speech was “not consistent with the extensive conversations we’ve had with the administration about the many successes and future of the CHIPS program and how it helps with our shared goal of creating a robust domestic chips supply.”

Trade and workforce: “As I’ve said, tariffs are a tool in the toolbox, but they must be strategic and support American jobs—not create uncertainty that undercuts our domestic manufacturing,” Rep. Debbie Dingell (R-MI) told the Detroit Free Press. “The domestic auto industry currently relies on an integrated North American supply chain, and our trade policies need to reflect that.”

• Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) zeroed in on implementation of any tariffs. “If you’re talking about tariffs that are going to be inflationary, causing all kinds of retaliation and disrupting the markets, I’m almost certainly against them,” he said in an interview with CQ Roll Call. “However, if you’re talking about tariffs that are used surgically … to be used judiciously and to build the economy, then I’m all for it.”
• For Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription), “It comes down to how long [the tariffs] would last.” He said you “can’t simply turn on and off an inflationary switch” or flip a switch to build manufacturing facilities in the U.S., “or even harder yet, get the workforce to fill those jobs that would be created, particularly at the same time as you’re shirking immigration.”

Big picture: “Manufacturers are already planning for 2026, and they need the certainty to invest and grow now. We’re seeing bipartisan interest in these priorities, and the NAM is building consensus to achieve exactly that and have even stronger champions for manufacturers in Congress to reinforce what we need to compete and win,” said NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter.

The Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, reintroduced this week, would harm manufacturers and their employees alike if it passes, the NAM and allied organizations told the Senate Tuesday.
 
What’s going on: The PRO Act, reintroduced Wednesday by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), purports to broaden labor protections for workers.

• In truth, however, it “would limit workers’ right to secret ballot union representation elections, allow government bureaucrats to unilaterally impose contracts on the private sector, trample free speech and debate, jeopardize industrial stability and limit opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs,” according to the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a group of organizations representing employers and employees. The NAM is a member.

Why it’s a problem: “The PRO Act is designed to push union representation on workers whether they want it or not,” the coalition said. The legislation would do this by:

• Limiting the right of employees to vote for or against union representation via secret ballot, instead instituting “card check”;
• Limiting employees’ right to free speech, effectively silencing debate;
• Giving the government unprecedented control over private-sector employment contracts;
• Requiring employers to give union organizers employees’ personal information without the employees’ consent;
• Eliminating right-to-work protections nationwide; and
• Allowing unions to choose a bargaining unit that maximizes its chances of winning an election instead of having the National Labor Relations Board choose a unit fairly.

The “ABC test”: In addition, the PRO Act would limit people’s opportunities for self-employment by imposing California’s failed “ABC test” on workers to determine whether they are independent contractors or employees.

• “The ABC test makes it very difficult for someone to work as an independent contractor by defining the term ‘employee’ very broadly,” the groups told the Senate. “Nationwide implementation would forcibly reclassify millions of workers who routinely say they do not want a traditional employee relationship and prize the flexibility and autonomy independent contracting provides.”    

Joint employment: The measure would also replace the existing standard for determining who is a “joint employer” under federal labor law with a much broader, more vague definition.

• “The current standard focuses on whether the potential employers have direct and immediate control over employees. The PRO Act standard, on the other hand, would establish joint employment liability based on indirect or even just reserved control.”
• “It would overturn decades of established labor law and undermine nearly every contractual relationship, from the franchise model to those between contractors and subcontractors and suppliers and vendors.”

The economic impact: The PRO Act would be economically devastating to companies, workers and the country, the coalition said.

• The measure’s independent worker classification alone could cost up to $57 billion nationwide, while its joint-employer standard would cost franchises as much as $33.3 billion annually.
• This would mean more than 350,000 job losses and a 93% spike in lawsuits.

The Manufacturing Institute—the workforce development and education affiliate of the NAM—has announced the recipients of the 2025 Women MAKE Awards, honoring some of the most impressive and inspiring women in the manufacturing industry today.

The awards, which will take place in Washington, D.C., on April 24, will highlight 130 individuals who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers across all levels of the manufacturing industry.

The challenge: The manufacturing industry faces a significant talent gap—with more than 400,000 job openings and an estimated 3.8 million positions needing to be filled by 2033.

• Women make up about half of the U.S. labor force, but less than one-third of the manufacturing workforce. Boosting the numbers of women who choose a career in modern manufacturing is essential to closing this gap—and the honorees of the Women MAKE Awards are leading the way.

The initiative: The MI’s Women MAKE America Initiative  strengthens the modern manufacturing workforce by elevating and highlighting the women leading the industry at every level—from the shop floor to the C-suite—in order to inspire the next generation and help close the talent gap in the industry.

The awards: Each year, 100 Honorees and 30 Emerging Leaders are chosen from the thousands of nominations submitted to the MI by their peers for making significant contributions to their companies, communities and efforts to cultivate the next generation of skilled talent. Since its inception, the Women MAKE Awards have recognized about 1,700 outstanding individuals.

The MI says: “Every year, more women are finding opportunity and breaking barriers in manufacturing,” said MI President and Executive Director Carolyn Lee. “By elevating these outstanding women for their success, we are showing young women—and everyone else—that manufacturing is a rewarding industry with unlimited potential.”

• “At a time when there is such high demand for talent in our sector, these extraordinary women demonstrate the impactful careers that are available. By elevating role models who are paying it forward, the Women MAKE Awards strengthen the future of the industry by inspiring the next generation.”

Manufacturing leaders say: “With hundreds of thousands of open jobs in manufacturing, it has never been more critical to attract and retain top talent,” said Toyota Senior Vice President of Electric Vehicle Supply Susan Elkington.

• “This year’s Women MAKE Honorees and Emerging Leaders are breaking barriers, leading with innovation and proving there is no limit to what they can achieve in our industry. By amplifying their stories and accomplishments, we inspire others to step into manufacturing and shape its future.”

Learn more: Read about the awardees and learn more about the awards gala.

“[T]he next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody,” President Trump said last night, reiterating the importance of this key manufacturing policy priority. “They’re in there. They’re waiting for you to vote,” he said.

The urgency: Even before price pressures from tariffs, the NAM’s study with EY showed that failing to act now could cost the U.S. 6 million jobs—including more than 1.1 million in manufacturing.

• In addition, approximately $540 billion in employee wages will be lost, and U.S. GDP will be reduced by $1.1 trillion.

The NAM says: “When President Trump signed these tax cuts into law, it was rocket fuel for manufacturing in America and made the U.S. economy more competitive on a global scale,” said Timmons last night. “That fuel is about to run out as key provisions have expired, and others are about to lapse. …We must ensure these historic, pro-growth manufacturing provisions are made permanent and even more competitive so manufacturers can plan, grow and succeed.”

• “Manufacturers need a deal now as they make decisions for investments in 2026 and beyond,” NAM Executive Vice President Erin Streeter said. “Every day we delay costs investments, jobs and opportunity.”

Making the case: Since igniting the sprint toward a tax deal with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) at the Capitol in January, the NAM has kept the pressure on lawmakers.

• Yesterday during the president’s address to Congress, the NAM leveraged a new tax ad, “When Manufacturing Wins, America Wins,” to amplify its message even further.