America’s manufacturing future still needs foreign robots – But labor shortages and pressure from lower-cost competitors mean those factories will need to be more automated than ever. Automation is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.

From the article

 Re-shoring U.S. manufacturing is deemed critical to national and economic security.

* But labor shortages and pressure from lower-cost competitors mean those factories will need to be more automated than ever. Automation is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.
* “This is how you compete today,” Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, tells Axios. “You have to take advantage of the best tools available.”

**Where it stands:** Trump has pushed hard on carmakers in particular to build domestically. The U.S. auto industry is already highly automated, ranking fifth in the ratio of robots to factory workers (tied with Japan and Germany and ahead of China), according to International Federation of Robotics data.

* While other industries like pharmaceuticals, agriculture and logistics are rapidly adding automation, the U.S. lags behind other nations in non-auto sectors.

**Yes, but:** The majority of industrial robots used in America are imported.

Labor shortages? I think there is enough labor. The problem is that the available labor pool doesn’t want to work for pennies on the dollar twelve hours a day seven days a week with shit near non-existent benefits.

> Automation is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Good, that’ll help make sure we use it to it’s full potential!