Finally, Factories Are Hiring Again

Summary

• Manufacturing is coming back in the U.S. in a way that’s very good for the economy, and advanced manufacturing has finally snapped its multi-year losing streak on jobs.
• It’s not just chips: turbine production made a full U-turn, up ~25% in four years, and pharma, outside the AI boom, is up 24% in nine years.
• I’ve argued this was a jobless rise, and I chalked it up to automation. Now jobs are rising too, and output can be jittery, but jobs tend to be sticky.
• Power is the catch. Electricity consumption is projected to rise ~50% in the next 25 years, and Oracle just declared force majeure because it couldn’t secure power for a site.
• This is bullish for jobs, utilities, and industrials, and it bolsters my convictions in my considerable S&P 500 position despite the recent tumble in stocks, which is short-term noise.

We shouldn't call it “reshoring,” because I genuinely don't think that we are “bringing jobs back” from foreign manufacturers as much as just building new manufacturing jobs here and adding to the greater global capacity, but either way, it's become clear that manufacturing is coming back

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of S&P 500, MSFT, GOOGL either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.