Winners in the New Industrial Economy
- Philip Heisler
- May 19
- 2 min read
Updated: May 19
The U.S. faces critical challenges to industrial revitalization, including power infrastructure gaps, uncompetitive cost structures, and labor shortages that threaten reshoring efforts. Sustainable industrial growth requires private innovation supported by coordinated policy to address these barriers.
The companies that will capture enduring value are those focused on solving these fundamental challenges through innovation in power infrastructure, industrial integration, and sustainable development—rather than merely exploiting temporary market distortions.
Energy solution providers capable of rapidly deploying adaptable power infrastructure are positioned to meet the market needs of power-constrained industries such as data centers. By delivering critical generating capacity in months rather than years, these providers remove the burden from public utilities and enable industrial developments that would otherwise remain stalled.
On-site and modular generation, such as fuel cells and gas generation, help circumvent equipment backlogs and cut deployment timelines from 5+ years to 2 years or less.
Microgrids that connect on-site generation and storage, can operate independently or in parallel with the grid to increase reliability while lowering costs and emissions.
Custom power systems and software help best address unique scaling and retrofit situations – such as optimizing energy use and climate controls.
Industrial efficiency and integration specialists focused on maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste can deliver competitive advantages and offset the higher capital and operational expenses inherent in domestic manufacturing.
Multi-tenant industrial parks with shared infrastructure distribute costs across multiple users and unlock economies of scale. Such developments can leverage new tools like digital twins to virtually model and test real-life workflows, reducing costs by up to 15%.
Connecting production processes creates industrial symbiosis and unlocks additional value across separate industries, allowing one company's waste to become another’s input – such as utilizing waste heat in a greenhouse.
Vertical integration of supply chains that address commodity and material demands can increase efficiency and responsiveness while reducing costs and disruptions.
Leaders in workforce and community development who effectively address the labor and development challenges to industrial reshoring can create additional headroom for domestic growth.
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) represent a critical winning approach by streamlining initiatives and removing systemic barriers to industrial expansion. The NASA-SpaceX PPP highlighted the potential of strategic collaboration to address sectors of strategic and national importance.
Training and workforce development initiatives led by forward-thinking organizations that bridge skill gaps enable growth and full labor force utilization.
Automation adoption alongside upskilling initiatives can support human labor instead of replacing it and reduce operational costs by 25% in domestic factories.
"The manufacturing industry is facing exponential opportunity, yet still should prioritize strategies that will address the skills and applicant gap… Developing talent… is important to keeping up with the pace of continued innovation." – John Coykendall, Deloitte Consulting, U.S. industrial products and construction
Resilience Beyond Uncertainty - The Time to Be Brave
The companies that will win long-term will be those who solve core challenges in power, efficiency, and labor. With targeted investment, aligned incentives, and integrated approaches, these leaders will build durable competitive advantages that will last long after tariffs and trade wars. Now is the time to invest in foundational capabilities and platforms that will redefine U.S. industrial capabilities.
