Manufacturing Extends Expansion Streak to Nine Months as Leaders Double Down on Growth and People

Expansion Holds, and Manufacturers Are Ready to Spend

Last month, 12 manufacturing industries reported growth, while two reported contraction. That's a lopsided scorecard, and it suggests momentum is broad-based rather than concentrated in a handful of sectors.

The macro picture aligns with what leaders are saying on the ground. A survey of manufacturers found companies are challenged but still confident about growth — and prepared to invest. The headaches facing leadership teams are familiar, but the spending priorities they outlined to Endeavor Business Intelligence suggest more growth is ahead for many. Confidence alone doesn't build capacity; capital allocation does, and the survey indicates the money is being committed.

The Human Side of the Industry

Numbers tell one story. People tell another, and IndustryWeek's Faces of Manufacturing series has been capturing the personal experiences behind the production data.

Charles Thomas, team lead and ambassador at Big Ass Fans, frames his career as an unfinished education:

"I'm still learning something every day, and I'm not done."

Sam Stoltzfus, R&D technician at Armstrong World Industries, points to the tangible output of the work as his motivation:

"That sense of accomplishment is what keeps me coming back to work every day."

Air Rheem North America, describes the draw of the industry in terms any engineer will recognize:

"For me, that combination of innovation, problem-solving and seeing an idea come to life is what makes manufacturing so rewarding."

These stories surfaced alongside Manufacturing Day 2026 celebrations, which featured tours and events at Honda, Lincoln Electric, and Rockwell Automation.

Fixing the Talent Pipeline — and the Improvement Mindset

The optimism comes with a structural caveat: labor. The podcast The 2026 Skilled Labor Shortage and How Manufacturers Are Bridging the Gap, hosted by IndustryWeek's Anna Smith, examines how an aging workforce and the reshoring drive are contributing to the shortage — and what manufacturers are doing to address it. The gap isn't new, but the strategies to close it are evolving.

On the operational side, two podcasts challenge comfortable assumptions. Behind the Curtain hosts John Dyer and Dr. Mohamed Saleh launched a new series exploring key behaviors that determine the effectiveness of well-known lean and continuous improvement tools, starting with gemba walks and the role of leader curiosity. Meanwhile, Lean Myths Debunked takes aim at kaizen events: true success is defined by long-term sustainability rather than initial implementation. A completed event is not a solved problem — a distinction worth internalizing before the next improvement blitz.