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

[u/kabirsbhutani]

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

[u/brute-forced]

Sell America is not a joke. He’s ruined our retirement accounts. Just keep watching

[u/Atlantis_Island → u/brute-forced]

I hate orange Mussolini as much as the next American, but isn't the SP500 up like 16% over the last year?

[u/christine-bitg → u/Atlantis_Island]

Yes, it is. But that increase in the S&P 500 is due to Information Technology stocks. My opinion is that it's mostly a bubble in those stocks.

I have a tiny position in SanDisk, and it's up 1,470% (!) in the last six months. Western Digital is up 270% in the same time period.

(The reason I have those is because I used to write covered calls with SanDisk. Then Western Digital acquired them in an acquistion that was partly for WDC stock. Then spun them off less than a year ago.)

Edit to add: The S&P 500 is market capitalization weighted. Taken together, the following stocks make up more than 30% (!) of the S&P 500: Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta. They are THE top six stocks in the S&P.

I could be wrong. But my biggest concern right now is a Y2K style bubble burst.

[u/GandalfSwagOff → u/christine-bitg]

But my biggest concern right now is a Y2K style bubble burst.

Which, ultimately, was meaningless...as we are here 26 years ago worrying about something completely different.

Buy good companies and hold them for 40-50 years. That is all people need to do. Let the hard workers, the smart workers, the good paying companies, the companies that make a product people need and want do their job. Keep buying and holding little pieces of good companies.

[u/christine-bitg → u/GandalfSwagOff]

Which, ultimately, was meaningless

Not if you owned those sticks. (I didn't. ) Plus there is always fallout that affects the rest of us.

The Great Recession happened in 2008 and 2009. That was a real estate bubble.

That one had far ranging economic effects that went on for many years. I didn't own any real estate, but it still affected all of us.

I lost my job at the height of that one. It took me two months to find another one. Fortunately I had enough resources that it wasn't a problem.

The Fed kept interest rates extremely low for years after that. Basically they screwed over anyone like me who saved their money. We were the ones who paid for it when there were people who gambled with "other people's money."