Elizabeth Berthelette, head of Northeast research and national life science research with Newmark, details the findings of the firm’s latest report on advanced manufacturing and labor availability in the U.S.

The Newmark report, “Manufacturing Momentum: Scaling for Success in Key Markets,” covers more than 160 metropolitan areas and other locations throughout the U.S. It examines a number of factors that determine where advanced manufacturers choose to locate operations, chief among them the existence of workers with the right skills. 

The report identifies five growth markets, classified by population. Leaders in the largest and most populous areas include Phoenix, Arizona; Detroit, Michigan, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Areas further down the list in terms of size, but still promising as potential sites for advanced manufacturing, including Syracuse and Albany, New York, and Charleston, South Carolina. Newmark defines “advanced” manufacturing as involving production in high-tech categories such as semiconductors, electric vehicle parts and batteries, solar energy and other “clean” technologies, and biotech. 

Labor is the number-one consideration for site selection of advanced manufacturing. Not surprisingly, the areas of the country with the highest population were also those with the deepest skilled labor pools, supported by networks of suppliers as well as universities, community colleges and training programs. 

Other considerations that determine siting decisions include local incentives such as tax breaks, access to energy and relatively cheap land and housing prices. Valuable government support can come from cities, regions and states. Also important to the development of advanced manufacturing are recent federal actions, such as passage of the CHIPS and Science Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The ultimate conclusion of the Newmark report appears to be that for the most part, labor availability won’t be a serious problem for high-tech manufacturers looking to reshore production and set up new plants in major parts of the country. “We’re not saying that there won’t be challenges,” Berthelette says, “but there certainly are avenues to address them. As we continue to see this sector mature, it will come to light as to what those challenges might be.”