2019 was a busy year for U.S manufacturers. We started off the year with the longest government shutdown in U.S. history which impacted U.S. manufacturers, with things like import inspections, labeling, federal contracts and small business loans either delayed or shelved altogether.
Manufacturers in the food, alcohol and supplement industries were especially affected while the furlough of some 6,000 customs and border protection agents had a severe impact on both imports and exports.
Industrial companies in the U.S. were also grappling with the prospect of a massive tariff increase on $250 billion worth of products and materials imported from China, initially scheduled to go into effect January 1st, but delayed until early May.
This set off a dizzying volley of tariffs between China and the U.S. Many companies were then scrambling to adapt to the new tariffs, only to see some relief towards the end of the year as the two nations worked out the first phase of a new trade deal and some tariffs were rolled back.
Meanwhile, the rapid growth in manufacturing seen in recent years hit a lull in 2019. The U.S. added just 38,000 manufacturing jobs in so far in 2019 (Jan-Nov), compared to a record 265,000 in 2018.
Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management’s reading on U.S. manufacturing activity dropped into contraction in August 2019, after expanding steadily for three years.
The ISM reading has remained below the 50% mark indicative of expansion since. Meanwhile, both manufacturing output and employment have posted meager gains compared to 2018.
Despite this, 2019 was not without its good manufacturing news. Over the year, we saw the revamping of the Buy American Act which will serve to increase the number of U.S.-made components purchased by federal agencies.
The USMCA, which had hit a snag in the ratification process, is currently set to be implemented after a new version of the treaty was drafted to include more labor and environmental protections.
Finally MNI, publisher and compiler of the industrial data that powers IndustryNet, tracked a number of major new plant announcements and expansions, as well as growth in a number of U.S. manufacturing industries.
Read More: New Manufacturing Plants Announced in November
This article will take a look back at the most popular manufacturing stories of 2019.
2019’s most popular “Top Ten of Manufacturing” list
Every week, IndustryNet explores some of the largest and fastest-growing companies in a given sector, drawing on MNI’s hand-verified data collected from nearly 400,000 U.S. manufacturers.
In 2019, we took a close look at some top companies in industries as diverse as air & gas compressors and hydraulic equipment to industrial valves and metal stampings.
Our most popular top 10 list for 2019 focused on the robotics industry, highlighting the significance of emerging technology in U.S manufacturing.
In this article, we covered some significant trends in the U.S. robotics industry and explored companies like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and KUKA Systems in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Read it: Top 10 Robotics Manufacturers in the U.S.
2019’s Most Popular Industry
Throughout 2019, IndustryNet has delved into a number of industries, analyzing sales, employment and regional data from the 400,000 manufacturers in MNI’s database.
Over the year, we produced weekly reports on diverse industries, exploring outlook for sectors as diverse as packaging machinery and machine tools to industrial furnaces and industrial valves.
Data on the U.S. mining equipment industry, published this summer, emerged as IndustryNet’s most popular industry story in 2019.
This article explored how global trends were impacting the U.S. mining equipment industry and presented crucial sales, employment, regional and distribution data collected by MNI.
Read it: How the Global Market is Impacting Mining Equipment Manufacturers
2019’s Most Popular Manufacturing Story
As with 2018, the U.S./China trade war remained the most crucial story for U.S. manufacturers this past year. Keeping up with the tit-for-tat trade war was difficult for U.S. companies, with new developments constantly in motion and uncertainty sending a shock wave through the industrial sector.
Throughout 2019, IndustryNet published the latest as new information unfolded from the USTR. We even covered the basics of how to request an exclusion from the USTR.
Interestingly, IndustryNet’s most popular story on tariffs wasn’t to do with the current trade war, but rather how industrial companies have handled tariffs in the past.
Our story How U.S. Manufacturers Viewed Tariffs in the 1930s was based on our 1930 issue of “Manufacturers’ News” in which we took a look through MNI’s voluminous archives (we’ve been publishing industrial information since 1912) to get the manufacturer perspective on the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.
Read it: How U.S. Manufacturers Viewed Tariffs in the 1930s
This was a fascinating historic look at how tariffs were perceived nearly 100 years ago, with some surprising parallels drawn between then and now.
Not only was it our most popular general interest story for 2019 but was IndustryNet’s 10th most popular story of all time!
2019's Top States
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the U.S. added nearly 265,000 manufacturing jobs in 2018, but hiring came to a near standstill in 2019 by comparison.
Some states, however, still added jobs in 2019, with our stories on job growth in Missouri and Wisconsin among IndustryNet’s most popular state industry stories in 2019.
2019’s Top Industrial Buyer's Resource
The IndustryNet Blog provides detailed resources for industrial buyers, including step-by-step procurement guides for specific industries, highlighting some of the top players in a given industry.
In 2019, we took a look at purchasing guides for construction equipment and metal fabrication while providing crucial knowledge on implementing new technology such as software and apps for manufacturers and AI applications for manufacturing.
Our most popular story in this category for 2019 was an expert guide on finding a skilled precision machining supplier. This exhaustive resource detailed new trends and advancements in precision machining and covered various aspects of the industry such as electrical discharge machining, precision milling and turning, screw machine products and more.
Read it: Expert Guide to Finding a Skilled Precision Machining Supplier
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