Trade uncertainties, rising costs and labor supply are key factors making business more complex.
Key takeaways
Regionalization will disrupt traditional business models for automotive manufacturers.
We highlight what shippers, carriers and brokers can do to plan for 2026.
What is the manufacturing outlook?
RSM’s manufacturing outlook provides insights into the major trends shaping the U.S. manufacturing sector throughout the year. Operating a middle market manufacturing company has become increasingly complex due to trade uncertainties, rising costs, and a constrained labor supply. In the automotive manufacturing industry, companies that once relied on cross-border supply chains and economies of scale are now adapting to a fragmented global economy. Additionally, a capacity shakeout could rebalance the freight sector in 2026. This report highlights actionable strategies and solutions to help manufacturing businesses navigate these challenges and remain competitive.
Manufacturing trend #1: Why are middle market manufacturing companies becoming more complex?
Operating a middle market manufacturing company in the United States has become increasingly difficult over the past decade. With the cost of capital remaining higher than in recent periods, manufacturing businesses must be ever more intentional about the operational levers they pull to drive additional enterprise value. Leadership teams must strike a balance between meeting the needs of the current business and making strategic capital investments to spur future growth.
Manufacturing trend #2: Global disruptions, regional dynamics and tech: Auto sector races to adapt
In the United States, national reindustrialization, resource and labor market protectionism, regulatory divergence, and accelerated technological disruption are redefining the competitive landscape. At the same time, global competitors are raising the bar for cost efficiency and technological innovation, compelling U.S. automobile producers to balance deglobalization with regional integration, market protectionism with competition, electrification with consumer demand, and innovation with disciplined capital management.
Manufacturing trend #3: Logistics outlook 2026: How a capacity shakeout could rebalance freight
The U.S. transportation and logistics sector is experiencing a freight recession driven by excess truckload capacity, depressed rates and rising costs. As market pressures mount, we anticipate an uptick in carrier bankruptcies and exits, especially among smaller fleets, with meaningful effects on middle market transportation and logistics companies as well as shippers as trucks exit the market and capacity tightens.
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