Us Manufacturing

Technology in manufacturing: the operational trends shaping factory floors in mid-2026

From physical AI to an 80% automation gap, here are the manufacturing technology shifts ops leaders need to act on right now.

73% of mid-market manufacturers are still testing AI, with zero at full deployment

New Kaufman Rossin survey data reveals most mid-market manufacturers are stuck in AI experimentation, held back by siloed data and legacy ERP systems.

Global M&A hits $2.8 trillion in H1 2026, with mega-deals and AI infrastructure pulling industrial manufacturing to a 28% surge

Global deal value hit a record $2.8 trillion in H1 2026, up 48% year-on-year, as AI infrastructure, grid modernization, and defense reshape who buys what.

Analog Devices maps the semiconductor case for physical intelligence in industrial automation

ADI's Fiona Treacy lays out how AI-driven physical intelligence and humanoid robotics are reshaping factory systems and semiconductor demand.

Robotics in manufacturing: five shifts defining factory floors in mid-2026

80% of U.S. factories still run without automation. Here's what physical AI, new cobots, and vendor restructuring mean for ops teams right now.

IMA Group positions "Cognitive Manufacturing" as the next operating model for industrial production

IMA Group's Cognitive Manufacturing framework, debuted at Interpack 2026, combines cloud AI, edge AI, and robotics to help production teams cut downtime and imp

93% of manufacturers have MES, but only 23% have fully integrated it across their enterprise

A Rockwell Automation report of 1,560 manufacturers finds the MES scaling gap is now the industry's defining operational challenge.

Industrial manufacturing M&A hit $173 billion as mega-deals now command 56% of deal value

PwC's 2026 midyear outlook finds industrial manufacturing M&A surged 28% to $173 billion, with mega-deals and strategic buyers reshaping how capital is deployed

Industrial manufacturing M&A hit $173 billion as mega-deals now make up 56% of deal value

PwC's 2026 midyear outlook shows industrial manufacturing M&A jumped 28% to $173B, with mega-deals and convergence themes driving premium valuations.

Robots, AI, and IIoT are reshaping the factory floor — but the real work is in integration

Robotics, AI quality control, and IIoT-driven predictive maintenance are converging in manufacturing, pushing ops leaders to rethink how they buy, deploy, and g

AI and automation's adoption gap: what manufacturers must act on now

80% of U.S. factories have zero automation. New tools and C-suite strategy shifts are changing the calculus for operations teams.

80% of U.S. factories have no automation. Here's what's changing in 2026.

Eight in ten U.S. factories still run without any automation, even as AI vendor activity hits a peak. Here's what's actually moving on the floor.

93% of manufacturers have MES, but only 23% have fully integrated it, Rockwell Automation finds

A new Rockwell Automation report of 1,560 decision-makers finds a deep MES integration gap hobbling manufacturers' push to enterprise-wide performance.

Automation adoption is surging at trade shows. Most US factories still haven't started.

Record attendance at Automate 2026 and new AI-lab deals signal industry momentum, but 80% of US manufacturing facilities still run zero automation.

Rockwell Automation report: 93% of manufacturers have MES, but only 23% have fully integrated it

A Rockwell Automation survey of 1,560 manufacturers finds MES adoption is nearly universal, but enterprise-wide integration remains the defining gap.

The automation visibility gap: why FactoryOps is becoming the missing layer in manufacturing stacks

Heavily automated plants still lose margin to blind spots. A new operations layer called FactoryOps is closing the gap without replacing existing PLCs or SCADA.

Where AI actually delivers in manufacturing: lessons from Automate Live

Panelists from Prolucid, Zebra Technologies, and Reynolds & Moore cut through the hype at Automate Live, pinpointing where industrial AI creates real value.

93% of manufacturers have MES, but only 23% have fully integrated it across the enterprise

Rockwell Automation's 2026 survey of 1,560 manufacturers finds near-universal MES adoption masking a deep integration gap that caps AI and operational value.

IMTS 2026 puts industrial AI and automation on the shop floor for enterprise evaluation

Manufacturing technology orders hit $2.19B through April 2026, up 28.9%. IMTS 2026 gives operators direct access to AI, automation, and additive tech.

93% of manufacturers have MES, but only 23% have fully integrated it, Rockwell Automation report finds

A Rockwell Automation survey of 1,560 decision-makers finds MES deployment is nearly universal, but enterprise-wide integration remains rare.

Most mid-market manufacturers are stuck in AI pilot mode, and their data infrastructure is why

73% of manufacturers remain in AI testing. A new Kaufman Rossin survey reveals legacy ERP and siloed data as the core blockers to scale.

Chinese industrial robots now reach 148 countries as factory task complexity rises

Chinese-manufactured robots are handling complex factory tasks and shipping to 148 countries, raising urgent questions for global procurement and ops teams.

Robotics in manufacturing: five shifts defining factory floors in mid-2026

Physical AI, a massive automation gap, and a wave of new industrial partnerships are reshaping how manufacturers buy and deploy robotics in 2026.

Four in five U.S. manufacturing facilities have zero automation — here's what's actually blocking AI adoption

Most U.S. plants run with no automation at all, yet executives plan AI expansion. The real barrier isn't budget — it's data hygiene and cybersecurity.

Standard Bots CEO: physical AI is closing the gap between what manufacturers want to automate and what they can

Standard Bots co-founder Evan Beard says physical AI lets manufacturers teach robots by demonstration, not programming, unlocking tasks once dismissed as imposs

Siemens and IFS partner to close the engineering-to-operations gap with industrial AI

Siemens and IFS announced a strategic partnership to connect design, manufacturing execution, and asset lifecycle data in a closed-loop industrial AI platform.

Turkish SME lists AI-powered IIoT and MES platform on EU innovation network, seeking manufacturing partners

A Turkish industrial software firm has posted its modular smart manufacturing platform on the EU's Enterprise Europe Network, targeting manufacturers across aut

End-of-line automation is the next deployment frontier for manufacturers

Nearly half of manufacturers plan end-of-line automation within 24 months, per IndustryWeek. Here's what operations leaders need to evaluate now.

Metalgear Engineering's assembly line overhaul pushed one manufacturer from 10 to 100 units a day

Custom PLC automation and single-piece flow redesign cut labor costs 40% and multiplied output tenfold for a manufacturer capped by a legacy line.

Industrial automation's AI gap: why 80% of U.S. factories still run without robots

80% of U.S. factories have zero automation, even as Honeywell, ABB, and others push AI-driven tools to close the gap.