The Manufacturing Outlook for 2023

Many companies are embarking on ambitious construction projects for new manufacturing sites in the year ahead.

Some, like TSMC’s fabrication plant in Arizona, will produce emerging technologies meant to bolster U.S. supply chains, while others, like Siemens’ electric vehicle charger factory in Texas, will help push the U.S. towards a sustainable future. 

The projects vary in size and scope, but each has the potential to make a major impact on the industry and they communities in which they operate.  

From semiconductors to solar panel plants, here are seven major U.S. manufacturing projects to watch in 2023. 

TSMC

• Product: Semiconductors

• Investment: $40 billion

• Location: Phoenix, Arizona

• Timeline: The first of two fabrication plants will begin production in 2024, with the second coming online in 2026
   

In December 2022, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced plans for a second fabrication plant in Phoenix, Arizona. The two facilities are slated to be among the largest foreign investments in the U.S. 

The facilities are expected to create roughly 10,000 high-paying tech jobs, as the U.S. aims to strengthen the domestic semiconductor supply chain.

President Joe Biden visited the site of the plants in December to make a pitch for improving the U.S.’s investment in semiconductor research and production. TSMC is one of several companies taking advantage of new legislation from the Biden administration to incentivize domestic investment in manufacturing, including the CHIPS and Science Act.  

Intel

• Product: Semiconductors

• Investment: $20 billion

• Location: Licking County, Ohio

• Timeline: Construction began in 2022, with production scheduled to begin in 2025

Biden and other officials broke ground on Intel’s massive semiconductor facility in September 2022. The largest private sector investment in Ohio’s history, the initial phase of construction is slated to create 7,000 jobs. The site spans 2.5 million square feet and will include two semiconductor plants. 

Samsung

• Product: Semiconductors

• Investment: $17 billion

• Location: Taylor, Texas

• Timeline: Construction began in 2022, with plans to open in 2024

This is the company’s largest investment in the US, with building now underway for the 5-million-square-meter site. Samsung said in a November 2021 press release that it chose Taylor as the home of the advanced chip facility due to its proximity to the “local semiconductor ecosystem,” as well as to the company’s existing production site in Austin, Texas, allowing the two locations to share infrastructure and resources. 

Samsung has spent the past year making construction headway on the project, as well as getting involved in the city of Taylor. In September 2022, the company held a local job fair for positions at the plant, and announced $1 million in charitable donations to local organizations.  

Form Energy

• Product: Iron-air battery systems

• Investment: $760 million

• Location: Weirton, West Virginia

• Timeline: Construction to begin in 2023, with production slated to start in 2024

Energy storage company Form Energy partnered with the state of West Virginia to launch its first commercial-scale iron-air battery manufacturing facility. The project is estimated to create about 750 jobs in the community, fueling much-needed economic growth in the region.

The facility will sit on the site of a former steel plant, as the state looks to break into emerging technology manufacturing. The government of West Virginia and its Economic Development Authority offered Form Energy roughly $300 million in financial assistance and incentives to help bring the project to the former steel town. 

Abbott

• Product: Nutritional powder

• Investment: $536 million

• Location: Bowling Green, Ohio

• Timeline: Construction to begin in 2023, with potential completion by 2026 and commercial production in 2027

Healthcare company Abbott Laboratories is constructing a nutritional powder factory in Northwest Ohio months after its high-profile baby formula production breakdown at a Michigan facility. 

The facility will produce specialty and metabolic powder nutritional products, including products for those with extreme food allergies or other dietary conditions. The plant is slated to create 450 permanent jobs, further boosting Ohio’s growing manufacturing capacity.

Siemens

• Product: EV chargers

• Investment: Undisclosed

• Location: Carrollton, Texas

• Timeline: The site is expected to be fully operational by mid-2023

Germany-based tech company Siemens is opening its second U.S. EV charger plant. The 80,000-square-foot plant is estimated to create about 100 new jobs. The location is a strategic choice as the new plant is surrounded by other facilities belonging to the company, including its EV charging distribution center in Southaven, Mississippi, and its Grand Prairie, Texas, manufacturing hub, which develops equipment for critical power infrastructure. 

“In the next decade, the US will need millions of chargers to support the rise in EV adoption,” John DeBoer, head of Siemens eMobility North America, said in a statement. “With this investment, Siemens is continuing to grow our U.S. EV charging manufacturing footprint to help answer this call and continue preparing the nation’s infrastructure as we steadily head to an all-electric future.”

Enel

• Product: PV solar cells and panels

• Investment: Undisclosed

• Location: To be announced

• Timeline: Construction to start mid-2023, with panels available for purchase by the end of 2024 

Italy-based energy company Enel announced in October its plans to build a solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and panel manufacturing facility in the U.S. The project, which has yet to have a publicized location, will be one of the first solar cell production facilities in the country and is expected to create about 1,500 new jobs in the next two years.

It will be Enel’s second factory and its first outside of its home country of Italy, as the company looks to take advantage of incentives offered in the Inflation Reduction Act and the growing demand for solar energy. 

When the National Association of Manufacturers surveyed industry players about their biggest business challenges in August 2022, over three-quarters of respondents listed attracting and retaining a quality workforce among their top issues. 

Months later, little has changed. “Manufacturing companies still are struggling to find workers,” NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray said. “Everywhere I go, they tell me that is still one of the top issues, and job openings continue to be really elevated.” 

Nearly 780,000 jobs were unfilled in the industry as of November 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But amid those thousands of open roles, some are proving particularly hard to fill. As technical skill requirements and academic interests continue to change, companies are struggling to find production workers, engineers and middle skill workers, a problem that experts say is unlikely to subside in the year ahead. 

Production workers

Much of today’s staffing challenge is centered on the shop floor. 

“The position I hear the most is entry level workers” said Moutray. “The average pay for production workers in manufacturing is $25 an hour, and yet, there is a lot of competition for that talent.”

The competition has intensified as companies hike wages to vie for workers in an increasingly tight job market, Moutray said. In particular, manufacturers are finding themselves at odds with sectors that attract similar talent, such as warehousing and retail. 

“You’ve got everybody from the Amazons, the Walmarts, the Targets, and the FedExs … and so forth, paying considerably more for entry-level blue collar talent,” said Erik Olson, a senior client partner with Korn Ferry, specializing in advising industrial manufacturing companies. 

As the rising e-commerce industry sends demand for talent surging, manufacturing has fallen further behind when it comes to base compensation ranges, Olson added. 

Manufacturing’s digital transformation is also creating a mismatch between available workers and the skills needed to fill open jobs. Moutray explained that companies are constantly looking for workers that can leverage new technologies, which “takes a lot of folks off the table.” 

“There’s no such thing as a low skilled job in manufacturing anymore,” Moutray said. “To really thrive, we’re going to need continuous learning and upskilling.”

Engineers

A scramble for engineers has also been brewing for some time, said Mary Ann Pacelli, former program manager for workforce development at the National Institute for Science and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership. She retired from the agency in December 2022, most recently serving as division chief of National Platforms for the public-private partnership. 

Fewer young people are going into engineering as college populations level off, despite the industry demand, Pacelli said. As more baby boomers retire, she expects there won’t be enough students in engineering programs to fill the roles that open up in the next five years. 

The issue surrounding engineers is not new, said Doreen Poehlitz, director of human resources for Bosch USA’s Charleston, South Carolina plant, but it has worsened.

When she moved into HR more than a decade ago, Poehlitz recalled looking at statistics that revealed more international students than residents were graduating from engineering programs at U.S. universities. “Even back then, it shows the U.S. was falling further behind, especially on the engineering and technical side,” she said. 

International students have played a critical role in filling demand for science and engineering talent in the U.S., according to a recent analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy.

Between 2014 and 2018, over half the growth in engineering graduate programs was driven by international students, who made up nearly 57% of the student engineering population in 2016, the American Society for Engineering Education found. At the same time, domestic enrollment in these programs has slowly decreased. 

However, international applications to engineering schools fell across the board in 2021, the society reported, citing the Trump administration’s 2020 policy change to student visas and COVID-19 travel restrictions as key factors. 

Compounding the issue, Poehlitz said, is competition between industries for a dwindling number of engineers in an increasingly digital environment.

“We have a higher amount of need now than ever, and a decreasing line on the opposite side of people becoming available,” she said.

Middle skill workers

After decades of pushing college education, the U.S. is experiencing a shortage of tradespeople.

The scope of these positions is vast, with experts calling out everything from electrical, mechanical and automation technicians, to CNC machinists, welders and maintenance mechanics. 

The labor gap among these roles is exacerbated by a rising need for technical specialists who can work with automation. 

Olson said that more than 70% of the clients his organization works with have increased automation over 50% in the past three years, upping the need for people in operational technology positions at the plant level. 

“We’re producing fewer and fewer folks that come into the workforce in the areas that we’re talking about,” Olson said, noting a continued de-emphasis on technical and trade skills among the country’s youth has played a role. 

As of 2012, federal figures on technical education showed that only 8% of undergraduates enrolled in certificate programs. In November, the Department of Education launched an initiative aimed at expanding access to skills-based learning and training programs in industries like advanced manufacturing, to ensure the “next generation” builds skills needed to fill in-demand jobs.

Such efforts are a reversal from the 1980s and 1990s, when there was a larger national push for students to attend four-year universities, meaning fewer people attended trade schools, said Patrick O’Rahilly, founder of manufacturing recruitment platform Factory Fix. 

“That’s your skilled workforce a decade later, so without that, you get a real shortage, and that’s what we’re paying the bill for now,” he said. 

As manufacturers invest in new facilities and capabilities in an uncertain economy, many are prioritizing technology spending.

Emerging technologies, including AI, additive manufacturing and 5G connectivity, helped many companies to stay afloat during the tumult of the last three years. In an economic downturn, the capabilities can represent a competitive advantage.

We're taking a look at some of the key technology trends making an impact in the manufacturing industry. 

Electric manufacturing for vehicles and batteries

Tim Shinbara, vice president and CTO for the Association for Manufacturing Technology, expects electrical manufacturing to mature in 2023, particularly regarding EVs and batteries. 

"That's important because that's a demand domain for [U.S. manufacturing supply] manufacturing technology," Shinbara said. "We see that picking up speed. I thought it did OK in '22, but I think it's going to increase the pickups and speed and evolve.”

Companies are likely to increase spending on R&D for chemistry alternatives to lithium for use in producing EV batteries, such as gallium nitride. He said similar integrative materials and processes would also improve hydrogen fuel cell battery production.

“I suspect 2023 will realize increased tech utilization to improve the process itself with some evolutionary advancements in the tech itself,” Shinbara said in an email.

Such developments are being made as companies strive to keep up with skyrocketing EV demand. EV sales hit record highs last year, with 230,000 light-duty EVs sold in the second quarter, according to Atlas Public Policy. 

Automakers and their suppliers will continue making considerable investments in EV manufacturing in 2023 to keep up with that demand. In addition, companies are increasingly investing in new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing sites in a bid to qualify for EV tax credits offered through the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Connected data

The coming year will see more use of data in the manufacturing industry, said Dr. Ragu Athinarayanan, a professor in Purdue University's School of Engineering Technology. 

"If we can collect the data from a manufacturing system, we can track what is happening in the process/es, when it is happening, and use that data to build insights, to better help manufacturers identify trends, predict outcomes, and identify potential problems even before they happen,” Athinarayanan said in an email.

Connected data through sensors can also help companies learn more about what's going on with their equipment and whether it needs maintenance or replacement, said Paul Wellener, leader of U.S. industrial products and construction at Deloitte. 

Companies are investing in connected technologies, installing wireless networks or 5G in manufacturing facilities or using artificial intelligence and machine learning to increase efficiency, he added. 

"As we look ahead, we will see more 5G, AI, machine learning embedded in manufacturing operations,” Wellener said. "Inside the factory, we will see many tools being deployed to help make companies more efficient and effective, to address safety issues and supply chain shortages." 

Connectivity will also continue to help manufacturers navigate supply chain disruption. 

"Analytical tools are helping companies with their supply chain to see availability, and figuring out how do they get material into the factory, so they can build products for their customers," Wellener said.

Automation and robotics will augment, not replace, labor

More manufacturers will add automation and robotics to their operations this year, Shinbara projects. The technologies are poised for growth in the manufacturing industry, in part due to their ability to help alleviate ongoing labor constraints. 

Smart automation will also grow in the year ahead, according to Athinarayanan.

“By using technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, we can draw insight from the data,” Athinarayanan said. “And we can then provide information from the data to the human being – which is the human worker – to help them improve the process.”

Wellener noted that the expanded use of robotics and automation is not to replace workers but to improve processes and efficiency, supplement workforces and help close the skills gap. It’s why he thinks manufacturing will continue to see investments in those spaces in the coming months, since there is still a macro-level skills shortage and talent gap in manufacturing.

“When you think about automation and robots and cobotics, they'll have to communicate or be communicated to,” Wellener said. “So then you think about the cloud, you think about 5G, you think about connectedness in factories, that will help bring things together.”

A new year means a new slew of laws and regulations are set to go into effect, several of which will impact manufacturers. Some laws will eliminate hurdles for manufacturers seeking federal assistance, while others will tighten regulations on food and drug companies or boost manufacturing innovation, research and development.

Below is a look at a few of the laws set to directly impact manufacturers in 2023.

Funds to help small and medium-sized manufacturers

The Commerce Department was granted $175 million as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 for its Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, according to a Dec. 29 press release.

The program, part of the department's National Institute of Standards and Technology, helps small and medium-sized manufacturers create and maintain jobs.

The funds are a $17 million increase compared to last fiscal year’s budget request. At a Senate committee hearing last year, Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo said the additional funds would allow the MEP Centers and their clients to respond to new market opportunities.

She also said the funds would help with initiatives to expand the pool and diversity in the manufacturing workforce by collaborating with workforce organizations.

Operating in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, the MEP helps small and medium-sized manufacturers by connecting them with resources such as assisting with recruiting and retaining workers, and needed protection and medical equipment. The Centers also work with and link state governments to manufacturers to address sudden challenges and connect them to state-level resources.

Manufacturing.gov Act simplifies a federal resource platform

In 2021, the Senate and House of Representatives each introduced versions of the Manufacturing.gov Act, which would require the Department of Commerce to revamp the Manufacturing.gov website, a national platform for federal manufacturing news, reports and programs.

The legislation was included in the 2023 federal funding law and is in response to a 2017 Government Accountability Office report, which stated there were 58 manufacturing programs across 11 federal agencies that provide support to U.S. manufacturers.

Congress members claimed that manufacturers struggled to navigate the various disjointed government websites to obtain needed information or to connect with federal programs.

Now as a law, the Commerce Department must establish a section on the Manufacturing.gov website that will have information on the various federal manufacturing programs, according to the Congressional Budget Office report in September. The new section must include the programs’ contact information, a section for public feedback and web pages dedicated to certain issues.

The department aims to make the federal website more useful and easy to navigate for manufacturers in the coming year.

Protecting the national formula supply

Under an amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act in the Biden administration's 2023 federal funding bill, the Food and Drug Administration was ordered to establish the Office of Critical Foods under its Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

The new department will oversee, coordinate and facilitate activities related to critical foods, such as infant formula and certain medical foods.

The new law will require manufacturers to notify the FDA if they have to stop or discontinue production of food that could lead to disruption in the U.S. as soon as possible but no later than five days after ceasing production.

Manufacturers must also develop, maintain and enforce risk management plans and calculate risks to the food supply.

The changes are a response to the 2022 national infant formula shortage after Abbott Nutrition temporarily shut down its manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan following widespread safety issues.

Cosmetic regulations get a makeover

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 — an amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act included in the annual federal funding bill — will authorize the FDA to keep a closer eye on the cosmetic industry.

Any company manufacturing cosmetics in the U.S. must now report any adverse effects of ingredients in its products such as death, disfigurement or hospitalization to the FDA.

Every person or company that has a facility that manufactures cosmetics in the U.S. must also now register with the FDA, and upkeep the registration every two years.

The FDA will have the authority to suspend production at the facility if the agency finds that the products manufactured at the site have caused severe adverse effects such as death, and believe that other products at the facility will cause further harm. It would also allow the FDA to recall cosmetic products.

Moreover, the FDA must publish federal regulations on good manufacturing practices for cosmetics companies, standards it previously lacked. Cosmetic manufacturers will also have to list ingredients, keep records of product contamination or adverse effects, and allow a Department of Health and Human Services representative access to the documents when an inspection occurs.

Testing talc and forever chemicals

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 also targets chemicals known to cause illness: talc and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.”

Under the amendment, the Health and Human Services Department is mandated to publish regulations establishing and requiring testing methods for detecting and identifying asbestos in cosmetics containing talc.

The Health and Human Services Department is also required to assess the current levels of PFAS found in cosmetics and investigate the scientific evidence that it’s safe to use in such products. The agency has three years to publish the findings on the FDA website.