The Manufacturing Report

Pundits love to talk about how robots killed manufacturing jobs — and might be coming for yours next. But Lawrence Michel, president of the Economic Policy Institute, argues that thinking is all wrong. Automation isn't the job killer it's made out to be, he says — but that doesn't mean America isn't facing a jobs crisis.

What's the most American-made car? One-time auto mechanic-turned-American University professor Frank DuBois created the Kogod Made in America Auto Index to find out. In this episode of The Manufacturing Report, DuBois chats with host Scott Paul about how he puts the list together — and why the American auto industry matters.

President Trump traveled to Ohio last week to promote his plan to rebuild America's infrastructure. But Democrats — who have introduced their own $1 trillion plan — aren't impressed. Given that opposition (and other distractions) can anything get done?

As a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Rep. Dan Lipinski knows that our nation's roads, bridges, airports, sea ports, railways and transit systems are in desperate need of repair. And despite the gridlock in Washington, there's interest on both sides of the aisle to get something done.

Brigadier Gen. John Adams served in the U.S. Army for over three decades before retiring in 2007. Now Adams is dedicated to fighting for the U.S. defense industrial base, an essential part of America's national security.

In a conversation with The Manufacturing Report, Adams explains why American-made steel is so important to America's national security — a topic he also testified about during a Commerce Department hearing last week.

As the Commerce Department examines ways to reduce the trade deficit, host Scott Paul explains why it matters — not only to our overall economy, but to small business owners and Americans in industrial states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan.

Apple plans to invest $1 billion in advanced manufacturing in the United States. That's nothing to sneeze at, sure, but the company could be doing so much more. Matt McMullan, communications manager for the Alliance for American Manufacturing, breaks it all down with host Scott Paul.

Harry Moser has been working to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States before it was cool. Now that reshoring jobs is a top issue, Moser discusses what is going right, what's going wrong — and what policy changes are needed to bring even more jobs back.

United Steelworkers Local 1999 President Chuck Jones famously called out President-elect Donald Trump for exaggerating the number of jobs saved by a deal at the Carrier facility in Indianapolis. Now five months later, hundreds of Indiana workers are still set to lose their jobs at Carrier and the nearby Rexnord plant.

In a conversation with host Scott Paul, Jones reflects on Trump's famous Carrier deal and the job the president has done for manufacturing workers in his first four months in office.

"He's talking what people want to hear, but we're not seeing any results," Jones says.

Pennsylvania steelworkers headed to Washington on Thursday for a big hearing on an important trade case. Several took time to chat with The Manufacturing Report about why they made the trip. PLUS: President Trump just signed two executive orders on trade: One to boost Buy America preferences and another to open a "Section 232" case into steel imports. Host Scott Paul breaks it all down.