Xometry report highlights AI, capacity gaps in U.S. manufacturing

Xometry, Inc. (NASDAQ: XMTR) released its second annual Manufacturing Outlook report on Oct. 1, 2026, identifying four trends the company says will shape U.S. manufacturing in 2027. The report is based on proprietary survey data from manufacturing executives across the United States.

According to the report, manufacturers expect AI to have its greatest impact on manufacturability and costing, cited by 51% of respondents, and quality control, cited by 47%, rather than on production execution, which was cited by 32%. The share of manufacturers reporting significant returns on AI investment rose to 57%, up from 44% a year earlier.

The report also found a capacity gap between smaller and larger manufacturers. Among manufacturers with under $50 million in revenue, 44% are operating below 70% capacity, compared with 16% of those above $100 million in revenue. In aerospace and defense, 42% of manufacturers ranked compliance as a top obstacle to winning new business.

On pricing, 94% of manufacturers said they plan to raise prices again in 2027, driven by material costs, tariffs, and labor. Only about 20% reported meaningful pushback from buyers this year.

The report identified AI and automation operators as the hardest role to fill in manufacturing, ahead of quality engineers, maintenance technicians, and CNC programmers. A quarter of manufacturers reported that raising pay produced no meaningful improvement in hiring or retention.

"AI is moving earlier into the manufacturing process, and the skills our industry needs are moving with it," said Sanjeev Singh Sahni, CEO of Xometry.

Vaidy Raghavan, Chief Technology Officer of Xometry, said: "When it comes to manufacturing, AI adoption has become the baseline, not the milestone. The real question is what gets built on top of it."

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