manufacturing Archives - Learners Live

Manufacturing Finds Opportunity as College Skepticism Grows by John Dorer

William Attardi on August 11, 2026

It’s nothing new. Manufacturers have been struggling for years to attract younger workers to the skilled trades—many of the roles that keep plants functioning. In recent years, however, the broader conversation about this type of work is evolving….. Many young Americans share growing skepticism of the traditional college pathas white-collar office jobs face increasing pressure. It’s a meaningful shift as the manufacturing industry continues to face a consistent labor gap. Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that there were roughly 438,000 open manufacturing jobs in early 2026. Long-term projections show little relief, as it’s expected the sector will need 3.8 million workers by 2033. But there may be a very important break in that chain, as a growing section of younger workers are questioning whether the traditional college path is right for them. Plant roles and skilled-trade careers can be presented not as fallbacks, but as stable and practical career options that offer real pay, advancement and long-term demand. Manufacturing Finds Opportunity as College Skepticism Grows | Workforce Development | advancedmanufacturing.org

NEMA Urges Expansion of Aluminum Tariff Incentives

William Attardi on August 3, 2026

New tariff incentives that reduce aluminum tariffs from 50% to 25% for companies committing to investing in US aluminum production are designed to spur domestic investment. NEMA, which previously called for tariff incentives, supports the action and is calling for similar moves to expand the program to include electrical steel, spurring further investments in US smelting and manufacturing. NEMA Senior Director for Global Policy Patrick Lozada said there’s “an opportunity to expand on the approach that they’re taking with aluminum,” adding that relief for critical inputs would help manufacturers. New aluminum incentives draw industry praise, leave questions about impact | InsideTrade.com

Siemens Energy Breaks Ground on New Mississippi Factory

William Attardi on July 23, 2026

Siemens Energy broke ground on a new factory in Pearl, Mississippi, marking the next step in the company’s effort to expand manufacturing capacity for critical grid technologies. The company announced on February 3 that it is investing $300 million in Mississippi. The factory, Siemens Energy’s second in the state, will manufacture high-voltage switchgear and is expected to create up to 300 jobs. Governor Tate Reeves presided over the ceremony. Siemens Energy has been manufacturing in Mississippi since 1973 and has a factory in Richland that makes high-voltage switchgear. Earlier this year, the company announced that it was investing $1 billion to ramp-up manufacturing in the United States and significantly expand its workforce. Siemens Energy Breaks Ground on New Mississippi Factory – tEDmag

Cooper Lighting Solutions Is Certified ‘Make It American’ by NEMA

William Attardi on June 29, 2026

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announced that Cooper Lighting Solutions has become the first lighting manufacturer certified under NEMA’s Make It American™ program, extending the domestic content certification program into a major category of federally funded infrastructure and construction. The company manufactures residential, commercial, industrial, sports, and infrastructure lighting and controls. The certification gives contractors, government agencies, and procurement officials a new lighting-sector resource as they work to meet domestic requirements under the bipartisan Build America, Buy America Act. Cooper Lighting Solutions becomes the 12th company with at least one Make It American-certified facility listed. Cooper Lighting Solutions is Certified ‘Make It American’ by NEMA

NEMA Celebrates Make It American™ Program’s First Anniversary with Landmark Schneider Electric Certification Milestone

William Attardi on June 16, 2026

In a first for American manufacturing, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) today announced that Schneider Electric has earned Make It American^TM certification for each of its 20-plus U.S. manufacturing facilities – the first company in the program’s history to certify its entire domestic manufacturing footprint. The milestone coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Make It American program’s launch and underscores the growing momentum among American manufacturers to demonstrate and validate their commitment to domestic production. NEMA Celebrates Make It American™ Program’s First Anniversary with Landmark Schneider Electric Certification Milestone – NEMA

April 2026 ISM®Manufacturing PMI® Report

William Attardi on May 4, 2026

The report was issued today by Susan Spence, MBA, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management^® (ISM^®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April for the fourth consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest ISM^® Manufacturing PMI^® Report. “The Manufacturing PMI^® registered 52.7% in April, the same reading as March. The overall economy continued in expansion for the 18th month in a row. (A Manufacturing PMI^® above 47.5%, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy.) The Employment Index registered 46.4%, down 2.3 percentage points from March’s figure of 48.7%,” says Spence. April

Manufacturing PMI® at 52.7% – March 2026 ISM® Manufacturing PMI® Report

William Attardi on April 3, 2026

US manufacturing activity expanded for a third consecutive month in March, with the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI measuring 52.7, up slightly from 52.4 in February. New orders dropped from 55.8 to 53.5, while production rose 1.6 points to 55.1. Supplier deliveries increased 3.8 points to 58.9, and employment contracted 0.1 points to 48.7. Institute for Supply Management

Medical Device Manufacturing and Reshoring Efforts by Todd Shryock

William Attardi on January 24, 2026

As the medical device industry heads into 2026, it finds itself at a pivotal moment shaped by rapid technological change, regulatory scrutiny, and ongoing economic uncertainty. Innovation remains the industry’s defining trait, but the path from concept to commercialization is becoming more complex and, in many cases, more fragile. Artificial intelligence is now embedded in everything from diagnostics and imaging to remote monitoring and surgical tools. While AI promises transformative capabilities, it also introduces new layers of risk and ambiguity during development. Questions around data quality, algorithm transparency, bias, and ongoing performance monitoring are increasingly difficult to separate from core product design, raising the stakes for manufacturers long before a device ever reaches the market. Medical device manufacturing and reshoring efforts | Medical Economics

Scientists Create Robots Smaller Than a Grain of Sand by Daniel Akst

William Attardi on January 11, 2026

They run on light and are the world’s smallest, fully programmable, autonomous devices. Now researchers at Penn and the University of Michigan have created the world’s smallest, fully programmable, autonomous robots, packing significant capacities into a device smaller than a grain of salt. These are parsimonious little things, barely visible to the naked eye yet able to sense their environment, respond to it and move around in complex patterns. As described in a new paper in the journal Science Robotics, they run on infinitesimally small quantities of energy and gain power from light. Tiny robots do have potential medical functions and a second area of potential use could be in manufacturing tiny devices such as computer chips with intricate circuitry. Scientists Create Robots Smaller Than a Grain of Sand – WSJ