Industrial Tech Rollercoaster 2025

Welcome to another edition of the Industrial Innovation Advocate. This week, we discuss how the threat of increased tariffs might affect additive manufacturing, and what AI holds for manufacturing in the year ahead.

But first, ...

Pearson Consulting is Now Narratio Marketing & Communications

As you know, I'm passionate about advocating for technologies that improve manufacturing and infrastructure - transforming how we make things and how our world works. Doing this well takes strategic storytelling that builds brands. Pearson Consulting didn't necessarily convey that, but Narratio (Latin for "story" or "narrative") does, along with a logomark that speaks to an integrated, surround-sound approach.

If your brand isn't conveying what you need it to, let's talk. We can define your brand narrative to be compelling and relevant, and craft communications campaigns to bring it to life to help you grow your industrial tech business, attract investors, recruit and retain great talent or whatever other business objectives are critical to you.

Forbes Addresses Trump's Potential Impact on Additive Manufacturing

Carolyn Schwaar 's latest piece in Forbes explains how higher tariffs and a push towards onshoring in the U.S. may help the additive manufacturing industry. There were a couple arguments made. First, additive manufacturing has inherent flexibility advantages in its ability to cost-effectively handle low volumes - think rocket engines and specialty connectors - and, as an all-digital technology, to be networked in a distributed manufacturing model. That's something companies like Xometry take full advantage of.

Another argument is that it makes it possible to produce parts for the defense industry that might otherwise be made in countries less friendly to the United States and its ally. In this instance, defense contractors might be willing to accept somewhat higher production costs in exchange for the security that comes from onshoring. And with much of defense industry assembly happening in the U.S. already, it also simplifies supply chains.

That said, most of the value of manufactured goods today is not suitable for additive manufacturing. It doesn't handle high-volume, low-cost goods, it can't produce many polymer and metal materials (though progress is being made), and of course assembly plants are still required. So while the currently environment could give a boost to a number of AM companies (clearly does seem to be helping Nikon Advanced Manufacturing right now), the impact on end consumers is at the margins.

To truly make the U.S. a "manufacturing nation" again, as President Trump advocates, will take a much more concerted effort to adopt a wide range of advanced manufacturing technologies along with addressing a significant manufacturing talent shortage at all levels. It's not about moving a facility and its workers from somewhere abroad to here. It's about comprehensively rethinking how manufacturing is done to harness the technology and talent available in the U.S. and other advanced economies to significant boost productivity and innovation. That is very much still a work in progress.

ABI Research Predicts AI Momentum in Manufacturing, But SMEs Lag

ABI Research has a smart group of manufacturing tech analysts (5 stars, highly recommend), and in their 2025 tech trends report, the firm predicts that complex simulation capabilities fueled by AI will become the backbone of core manufacturing software this year. However, small and medium enterprises will lag in adopting GenAI and industrial metaverse solutions.

ABI highlighted a number of key acquisitions in 2024 that enabled manufacturing software providers to advance their AI simulation capabilties, including 西门子 ' acquisition of Altair and its industrial simulation and analysis capabilities for nearly $11 billion and 新思科技 's pick-up of Ansys and its engineering simulation software for $35 billion. How AI plays in different software categories will vary. For instance, it can be used in CAD software to simulate various designs to minimize waste or material, while in MES, it can simulate and improve manufacturing methods. A lot of this is more of a machine learning flavor, but GenAI-powered industrial metaverse use cases will start to pick up steam in 2025 too.

However, those early adopters won't be smaller manufacturers. SMEs are always price sensitive and risk-averse, and GenAI-related investments are significant, with even more risk to go along with significant ROI potential. They'll wait out this year and watch the big players first before making big new investments. On the other hand, many SaaS-based manufacturing solutions already widely adopted by SMEs are being infused with GenAI (my client Aleran Software as an example) and those capabilities will see adoption this year.