American manufacturers grow at fastest rate in 4 years amid AI boom

US factories are humming again. The ISM Manufacturing PMI climbed to 54.0 in May 2026, a level the index hasn’t touched since May 2022, driven largely by an insatiable appetite for AI hardware, semiconductors, and the data centers that house them. The S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI told a similar story, registering between 53.8 and 53.9 in July 2026 after more than a year of steady gains in new orders and production output. What’s actually driving the rebound Semiconductor fabrication plants, data center campuses, and factory construction have become the backbone of this manufacturing renaissance. Factory construction spending in the US more than doubled between 2021 and 2024, a surge that also attracted $2.42 trillion in foreign commitments over that period. US manufacturing value added hit a record $2.91 trillion in 2024, establishing a new high-water mark before the AI-driven acceleration even fully kicked in. The cracks in the foundation Supplier delivery times worsened at one of the fastest rates in four years. Input-cost inflation remained elevated, though it did ease to a four-month low in July 2026. A projected shortfall of 3.8 million skilled workers looms over the se...