The Future of Manufacturing

The rumors of the demise of American manufacturing have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, American manufacturing is experiencing something of a renaissance. In 2018, the United States added 261,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector, mirroring an increase of 207,000 in 2017. This job growth has primarily been powered by small, high-technology firms working with cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities. Today, manufacturing stands on the precipice of a profound transformation that many are calling Industry 4.0, or the “fourth industrial revolution.”

The First Three Industrial Revolutions

The first Industrial Revolution marked a profound shift in human history and transformed the entire endeavour of human civilization radically. The 19th century was marked by a shift from an agrarian-centric economy to a manufacturing and production-centric economy. This revolution was powered primarily by coal, water and steam energy. The Watt Steam engine and its successors enabled production and productivity to soar and enabled the rapid industrialization seen in Europe in the century to follow. In 1800, the United Kingdom had 30,000 steam horsepower in installed capacity. By 1870 this had soared to 1.7m in steam horsepower in installed capacity.

The second industrial revolution was set off in the early 20th century almost single…