We Don’t Need Tariffs. We Need Better Infrastructure for U.S. Manufacturers.

Tariffs still dominate headlines, shape sourcing strategies, and surface in nearly every policy discussion about strengthening American industry. But if a surge of domestic demand showed up tomorrow, could the U.S. manufacturing network actually absorb it?

The uncomfortable answer is: Not as efficiently as we think.

This isn’t because American shops lack skill. It’s because the manufacturing network that connects buyers to capacity is still largely analog.

Before we debate protectionism, we should acknowledge something more fundamental: The real bottleneck in U.S. manufacturing is coordination. And today, it runs on spreadsheets, emails, PDFs and tribal knowledge.

The U.S. hasn’t forgotten how to make things. We produce nearly $200 billion annually in precision machining and another $50 billion in sheet metal fabrication. Manufacturing accounts for roughly 11% of the U.S. GDP and employs nearly 13 million people.

Not to mention that the technical capabilities in U.S. shops today are nothing short of extraordinary. Modern American machinists hold tolerances measured in microns. Laser systems have increased from 25 watts to 50 kilowatts in two decades. Automation and inspection systems are sophisticated and widespread. The machines are incredibly modern.

What hasn’t evolved at the same pace of modern machinery is the connective tissue between companies...

Read the full piece on SupplyChainBrain. Opening republished with permission. Photo: iStock/LeonidKos.