David Uberti

which tend to drive the NASDAQ and S&P in a more volatile way.

The Dow doesn't capture the full weight of the AI boom in some respects, but on the other hand, it might be a more accurate representation of what is actually happening in the U.S.

economy.

Something like 200,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared across the country since 2023.

And since President Trump unveiled his so-called Liberation Day tariffs last April, there have been eight straight months of job declines in the manufacturing sector.

The data shows us that something like 200,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared across the country since 2023.

And since President Trump unveiled his so-called Liberation Day tariffs last April, there have been eight straight months of job declines in the manufacturing sector.

indicators suggest factory activity has contracted for much of the last two years.

And the actual investment that goes into manufacturing construction has actually fallen each of the first nine months that Trump has been in office.

Now, all of this is notable because, as you said, we're approaching something like a decade of industrial policies across administrations.

We actually had tariffs in

In Trump 1, we had tariffs and massive spending on green energy and chips in Biden.

And then in Trump 2, while he has pulled back some of that spending on green energy, he has ramped up tariffs to levels we have not seen in decades, along with other pro-manufacturing policies as well.

And where he's left us is basically fewer people in America working in manufacturing than at any point since the end of the pandemic.

The impacts of tariffs are very disparate across the manufacturing sector.

If you own an aluminum or steel plant, you love tariffs on aluminum or steel because it boosts prices for aluminum and steel.

But if you're the various types of suppliers for...

automakers or infrastructure firms or whatnot that use those types of materials in the various types of widgets or equipment that you actually produce and you need to import some of those materials, then your costs are going up and that's actually compressing your margins in many cases and making you scramble for supplies.

I spoke with a number of businesses who are grappling with some of these impacts, two of which are based in North Carolina.

one of which was called InSteel.