Access Is Becoming Manufacturing’s Competitive Advantage, According to Xometry's 2027 U.S. Manufacturing Outlook
Key Highlights
- ➤AI delivers significant returns for 57% of manufacturers, up from 44% year-over-year
- ➤44% of manufacturers under $50 million revenue operate below 70% capacity
- ➤94% of manufacturers expect to raise prices again in 2027
- ➤AI and automation operators are manufacturing’s hardest roles to fill
- ➤Aerospace and defense compliance ranks as a top obstacle for 42% of manufacturers
Expert Statements
Sanjeev Singh Sahni, CEO of Xometry
“AI is moving earlier into the manufacturing process, and the skills our industry needs are moving with it. There’s plenty of manufacturing capacity in the U.S. to meet the growing demand for parts from robotics and physical AI to defense, much of it in smaller shops running below full utilization. The challenge is that these products depend on parts made from different suppliers, assembled in stages, and most supply chains weren’t built for that many handoffs. Solving that takes access to the right partners at every step. This year’s Manufacturing Outlook confirms what we’re seeing across our own network: the companies that adapt fastest are the ones treating access, not just assets, as their competitive edge.”
Vaidy Raghavan, Chief Technology Officer of Xometry
“When it comes to manufacturing, AI adoption has become the baseline, not the milestone. The real question is what gets built on top of it”
Oscar Lovera, Chief Operations Officer of Xometry
“Procurement teams need to rethink how they manage the supply chains. Increasingly the solution is access to a network across multiple regions that you can leverage as you need and when you need it”
Silpa Gollapalli, SVP of Commercial and leader of the Partner Network at Xometry
“The opportunity heading into 2027 is to connect more of America’s manufacturing capacity to the companies that need it. The shops that move fastest to make their capacity visible and their credentials current are the ones who win the work”
* Manufacturing's AI payoff is upstream: Manufacturers see the biggest impact in manufacturability, costing, and quality control, not on the factory floor. * America's idle industrial capacity is hiding in small shops: Smaller manufacturers have far more room to run than larger ones, if they can meet certification requirements. * Supplier optionality is becoming a competitive advantage: With prices rising and pushback low, buyers are leaning on supplier access instead. * Manufacturing needs skills, not just headcount: AI and automation operators are now the hardest role to fill, and higher pay alone isn't solving it. NORTH BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xometry, Inc. (NASDAQ:XMTR), the global AI-native marketplace connecting buyers and suppliers of custom manufacturing, today released its second annual Manufacturing Outlook report, a forward-looking analysis of the forces shaping the manufacturing industry for 2027.
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