Status of Emerging Technologies and U.S. Manufacturing Highlighted in New Report from MForesight

MForesight, the Alliance for Manufacturing Foresight recently released a new report on Reclaiming America’s Leadership in Manufacturing. The report provides a deep dive into the state of American manufacturing, and some of the factors that have affected its fluctuation.

“In many respects, with the exception of aerospace, the United States is no longer an advanced manufacturing economy, focused more on mid-tier industries than the advanced, high-technology sectors needed to maintain high living standards and superior military capabilities” the report explains.

To support the growing need for increased manufacturing capabilities, the report calls for the development of a National Manufacturing Initiative (NMI) that would bring the entirety of the federal government to work in collaboration to strengthen the state of American manufacturing. “Establishing a National Manufacturing Initiative is commensurate with the importance of manufacturing to long-term national wealth and security…[and] would help to establish the hardware industries of the future in the United States.”

The report provides a series of four avenues through which the NMI can engage the entire federal government:
 

• Fund translational research
• Fund applied research and development (R&D) and technical training
• Create manufacturing investment funds
• Strengthen support for small and medium-size manufacturers

Beyond the NMI and current state of American manufacturing, the report further charts the status of emerging technologies in key industries such as electric and autonomous vehicles and semiconductors and how they can impact manufacturing.

View the report in full.