The Thomas Blog

Manufacturing Industry Jobs Update: June 2017

At THOMASNET.com, we are big champions of American manufacturing and reshoring. In fact, we work with suppliers who produce amazing products made in America every day, and we play an instrumental role in helping small- and medium-sized suppliers grow.

But how can we measure growth for the industry overall? A good barometer is the state of the manufacturing workforce. That’s why we will be regularly diving deep into the latest information from the Bureau Of Labor Statistics to take the pulse of hiring in the industry and to highlight sectors that are growing.

Here is our Manufacturing Industry Jobs Update for June 2017 (scroll down for previous releases):

Video: The Best Metro Areas For Manufacturing Jobs

Think it's tough to get a job in the manufacturing industry? While that may be the common perception, the truth is that the manufacturing job market offers more opportunities than you think. 

In fact, Forbes recently looked at the state of the hiring within the industry and found that all but 18 of the country’s 70 largest metropolitan regions have seen an uptick in industrial employment since 2011. They also ranked all 357 metropolitan areas to determine the locations with the best, most thriving manufacturing employment situations.

Thomas Sourcing Trends: Steel

Buyers and engineers evaluate a supplier on THOMASNET.com every 2 seconds. All of that sourcing activity gives us valuable insight on the movements of typical patterns in the industrial market place.

Over the past few months, we've been watching raw material sourcing closely and we've noticed some interesting trends:

Video: Autonomous Airbus Helicopter Flies For The First Time

The latest aircraft from Airbus is hitting the skies, but in an unexpected way. The company recently announced at the 2017 Paris Air Show that it will begin flight trials on a helicopter that makes pilots optional. 

TCO: Why Reshoring May Be The Smart Move For Your Supply Chain

Discussions about bringing manufacturing back to the United States are heating up as reshoring and U.S.-based manufacturing have become more lucrative. Many CEOs and CFOs are realizing that their businesses would have a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) with U.S.-based operations when potential steep tariff hikes and reshoring tax benefit programs come into play. Tech giants like Apple, Foxconn, and Offsite Networks are now looking to manufacture more affordably, locally, and, most importantly, with more integrity.

Video: How American Is Your Car?

The auto industry makes a massive contribution to the well-being of the U.S. economy, accounting for approximately 3.5% of the U.S. GDP and employing more than 2.5 million workers.

To discover which auto companies make the biggest impact on the U.S. economy, American University's Kogod School of Business released their 2017 Made in America Auto Index. 

Video: Stratasys Builds A Wall Of 3D Printers

The latest creation by Stratasys could change the additive manufacturing industry. The 3D Demonstrator, an automated, multi-cell 3D printing concept, is designed for low-volume production and mass customization. 

Video: Tesla Is Shaking Up Its Manufacturing Process

Tesla's latest move on the shop floor is causing quite a stir in the industry. To adhere to their lofty production goals, the company is skipping the soft tooling stage and jumping straight into the production tooling stage for their Model 3 automobiles.

Manufacturing Industry Jobs Update: April 2017

At THOMASNET.com, we are big champions of American manufacturing and reshoring. In fact, we work with suppliers who produce amazing products made in America every day, and we play an instrumental role in helping small- and medium-sized suppliers grow.

But how can we measure growth for the industry overall? A good barometer is the state of the manufacturing workforce. That’s why we will be regularly diving deep into the latest information from the Bureau Of Labor Statistics to take the pulse of hiring in the industry and to highlight sectors that are growing.

Here is our Manufacturing Industry Jobs Update for April 2017 (scroll down for previous releases):