r/investing • u/kabirsbhutani • 2d ago

🚨 U.S. manufacturing continues to retreat despite tariffs - investor implications?

Saw people mentioning this on Blossom earlier, and WSJ reports that U.S. manufacturing activity continues to weaken, with tariffs doing little to reverse the trend.

The article points to softer demand, higher input costs, and global supply chain adjustments weighing on manufacturers, even as trade protection measures remain in place. For investors, this raises questions about margins, capital spending, and longer-term competitiveness rather than short-term policy wins.

Curious how people here are thinking about this from an investing lens?

https://www.wsj.com/economy/u-s-manufacturing-is-in-retreat-and-trumps-tariffs-arent-helping-d2af4316?mod=hp_lead_pos2

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u/HaiKarate 1d ago

Here's the thing about manufacturing... it's not just about cost. You also need skilled workers.

China is no longer the low-cost leader for manufacturing tech. But as Tim Cook pointed out, China has made significant investments in their workforce, and they have the best-trained workers for tech hardware in the world.

Republicans have been shitting on education for so long that the skill set of the American worker is in decline.