US manufacturing has plateaued after rebound

Struggling sector: An employee loads packaged food onto a delivery truck in Austin, Texas. On the roads, trucking firms moved 4% less freight than a year ago and 2% less than four years ago, confirming the manufacturing activity slowdown. — AFP

US manufacturing activity has shown little or no growth in the last year as businesses struggle with lacklustre consumer spending on merchandise and excess stocks built up after the pandemic supply chain disruptions.

Despite rhetoric about a manufacturing renaissance, there has been little impact on manufacturing output or employment once the post-pandemic rebound was completed by the middle of 2022: