The U.S. Department of Labor Targets Apprenticeship Startup Costs  

The DOL recently released the Pay for Performance Incentive Payments Program Grant, designed to offset the upfront costs that often prevent companies from launching apprenticeship programs. The funding is a constructive step, but structural barriers remain. A Brookings analysis highlights ongoing challenges — complex registration, unclear standards, and administrative burden — and outlines additional reforms needed to scale apprenticeships nationwide. See also Pay-for-Success Apprenticeship Pilots: A Framework for Outcomes-Focused Expansion.  

RI comment: We support these grants. We believe it is at least as important to improve the recruitment of prospective apprentices, e.g. by shifting DOL emphasis from “College for everyone” to “A good career for everyone.” 

Congressional Report Proposes Dual-Use Factories 

Lawmakers back AI- and 3D-printing-enabled dual-use factories to boost U.S. wartime manufacturing and counter China’s industrial scale. “Dual-use” refers to factories making commercial goods, but able to shift quickly to defense production.  

RI comment: 3D-printing should have a key role, especially for maintenance parts. Other processes will be needed for rapid production of high volumes of new defense system components. 

Why a Market Access Charge (MAC) Would Have Greater Benefits Than Tariffs 

A market access charge could rebalance U.S. trade by making foreign purchases of American financial assets more costly, reducing the overvaluation of the U.S. dollar, boosting demand for U.S. goods and strengthening domestic production. MAC aims to reduce persistent trade deficits, spur GDP growth, and create jobs more effectively than tariffs.   

FDA Launches Program to Boost Domestic Drug Manufacturing 

FDA’s new PreCheck pilot aims to strengthen the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain by cutting regulatory barriers and encouraging domestic drug manufacturing.  

Aerotek Survey Reveals Job Seekers Prioritize Job Stability and Challenge Entry-Level Experience Requirements 

According to the survey, job seekers are open to relocating and exploring manufacturing careers. They increasingly value stability and want entry-level roles with more accessible experience requirements. 

Reshoring American Manufacturing Requires Modern Robotics 

Flexible, deployable solutions help companies overcome labor gaps and stay competitive.  

RI comment: Automation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for reshoring. Automation alone will not reduce our cost disadvantage sufficiently. A lower USD or tariffs are also required.  

New Data Show U.S. Retains Significant Share of Foreign Science and Engineering Talent Upon Graduation 

Data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics show a large majority of foreign-trained science and engineering Ph.D. graduates remain in the U.S. after completing their degrees, underscoring the country’s role as a key destination for global research talent and the importance of easing immigration pathways.  

RI Comment: We also need more Americans to get advanced science and engineering  training.  

Supply Chains 

Can Reshoring Deliver Manufacturing Sustainability Benefits? 

Moving production closer to home could cut transportation emissions, but total lifecycle impacts - including energy mix, facility efficiency, material sourcing and scale - can offset or even outweigh those gains.  

RI comment: Our studies show that reshoring can cut emissions 25% in many cases due to a combination of shorter shipping routes and U.S. electricity being less coal-dependent than most other countries. 

Well-Played in USA: Why Onshoring Makes Good Business Sense 

U.S. companies are turning the tide on global supply-chain risks by bringing manufacturing home, boosting innovation, quality control, and customer trust while strengthening domestic competitiveness.  

China Financial Report - Will Global Trade Fracture? 

China’s recent economic data fell short of expectations, with retail sales growing just 1.3% in November and industrial output up 4.8%, below the year’s average. Investment has declined for three consecutive months, but a rebound in infrastructure and manufacturing spending is likely in 2026 as Beijing seeks to boost growth.   

Who Let China in? and Supply Chain Cracks Form: 25 in 2025 

From China’s rise to supply‑chain fractures, the key game‑changers that defined manufacturing in the new millennium. 

Foreign Investment in the U.S. Remains Strong 

The U.S. has become a major beneficiary of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last few years. It’s a wave the Trump administration is looking to ride further if some of the internal contradictions of its strategy don’t trip things up.  

RI comment: FDI has provided about 45% of the reshoring plus FDI total of over 2 million manufacturing jobs since 2010. 

Geopolitics 

Breaking Down Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy 

The 2025 National Security Strategy represents a sharp break from recent U.S. policy by de-emphasizing great-power rivalry and global leadership in favor of a more inward-looking, regionally concentrated, and transactional security approach.  

Trump’s Embrace of Weaker Dollar Fuels Bets on New Downtrend  

President Trump’s embrace of a softer U.S. dollar has traders betting the currency’s recent slump marks the beginning of a sustained downtrend.  

RI comment: We support a stable, competitive U.S. dollar about 20% lower than the current level. See item above re MAC. 

Select Media  

Articles: 

Wired: Apple Engineers Are Inspecting Bacon Packaging to Help Level Up US Manufacturers  

Factcheck.org: FactChecking Trump’s Economic Speech 

Fast Company: Better Jobs Will Save Manufacturing 

Manufacturing Dive: By the numbers: 2025 manufacturing trends 

AMT: Tech-Charged Reshoring Fuels Skilled Workforce 

AMT: Reshoring and the Future of U.S. Manufacturing 

STISPA: A Skilled Workforce Should Be the Nation’s First Priority 

Videos & Podcasts: 

Paolo Taticchi Webcast: The Future of Value Chains 

STI/SPFA: House Small Business Committee Hearing on Domestic Manufacturing 

Swiss Machine Tool Society Webinar: Navigating U.S. Tariffs on Swiss Products 

HM comment: “Tariffs are very difficult to calculate correctly. This webinar, which I helped host, will help companies calculate their tariffs. When the certainty of tariffs becomes clear, the value of reshoring increases.” 

Upcoming Events  

March 10-12 — MFG Meeting — Ft. Lauderdale, FL  

March 23 — University of WI, Madison supply chain class — remote 

March 31 — University of Texas, Dallas class — remote  

May 5-6 — COO Leaders’ Summit — Denver, CO 

September 14-19 — IMTS — Chicago, IL 

October 14-16 — AMT MT Forecast — Schaumburg, IL  

Visit ReshoreNow.org for the latest news and upcoming events.