2026 Manufacturing Trends Report: What Industry Data Reveals About Supply Chains, Pricing, and AI Enablement

Velocity — it’s the one word that describes how the manufacturing world moved in 2025, and what manufacturers will need if they want to succeed in 2026. No matter your organization’s role in the sector, you’ll need speed and momentum to overcome a marketplace that’s rapidly changing in response to rising material costs, shifting supply chains, and evolving AI technology.

This 2026 Manufacturing Trends Report cuts through the noise to provide:

1. Which trends to prioritize
2. How to approach these trends across departments
3. What these approaches could look like across business types, from OEM manufacturers to distributors

What’s driving this year’s manufacturing trends?

Three factors are driving this year’s manufacturing trends:

1. Tariffs, which are the leading challenge for 78% and 68% of manufacturers due to trade uncertainty and raw material costs.
2. Generative AI, which 89% of business-to-business (B2B) buyers now use to guide their purchases, from research to vendor comparison.
3. Labor gap, which prevents 69% of manufacturers from meeting their production requirements.

The 5 manufacturing trends to prioritize in 2026

These are the five manufacturing trends for organizations to prioritize:

1. AI search

Whether it’s ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, or another AI-powered experience, people are changing how they search.

With fewer reasons to visit a website (though users are more qualified if they do), it’s become imperative for manufacturers to ensure they’re visible (like through a mention or a link) in AI search experiences. To emphasize how critical this trend is to manufacturing, consider that 1 in 4 manufacturing searches trigger an AI Overview.

The good news is that manufacturers practicing SEO have a head start on AI search optimization (also called generative engine optimization). Regardless of your SEO status, though, you’ll have to navigate tracking your performance in AI search.

No platform (think Google, Perplexity, or ChatGPT) provides built-in tracking, which means you’ll need to use a spreadsheet or third-party platform like OmniSEO® to track your mentions and citations across searches (as an aside, the bonus of a platform like OmniSEO is you can benchmark your performance against competitors, get optimization recommendations, and more.)

Playbook

If you’re looking to get started with AI search optimization, here’s an example playbook:

P.S. For more guidance, check out our walk through on how to improve your visibility in AI search.

Sector snapshot

Here’s a snapshot of what adopting this manufacturing marketing trend could look like at different companies:

2. Algorithmic pricing

Almost half of job shops take two or more days to return a quote. The result? A bid-win rate of less than 50%. This scenario isn’t isolated to job shops. Across the manufacturing sector, businesses have an opportunity to provide quotes faster, giving them a competitive advantage that can help them win more deals — and win them sooner.

Playbook

Here’s a mini-playbook of what this manufacturing trend could look like in action:

Sector snapshot

Here are some examples of what algorithmic pricing could look like at different organizations:

3. Supply chain immunity

In the third quarter of 2025, manufacturers shared their top concerns in the National Association of Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, which were:

1. Trade uncertainty (78%)
2. Raw material costs (68%)
3. Healthcare costs (65%)

The good news is that most expect their output to increase over the coming months. That increase, though, highlights a persistent manufacturing industry trend: a tougher supply chain.

While it’s impossible to create a totally immune supply chain, manufacturers need to prioritize it, as supply chain issues can cost you up to 8% of your annual revenue.

Playbook

Here are some examples of what your team can do to build a tougher supply chain:

Sector snapshot

See what supply chain immunity could look like at your organization with these examples:

4. Agentic AI

For more than 45% of U.S. manufacturing leaders, attracting and retaining a top-notch workforce is one of their biggest challenges. This challenge plays out in the fact that 69% of manufacturers can’t meet their production requirements due to staffing issues.

That’s why leading manufacturing companies are prioritizing agentic AI and humanoid robots. When it comes to this manufacturing industry trend, agentic AI is the one that any manufacturer can take advantage of in 2026.

That’s because agentic AI isn’t limited to your production floor.

You can use AI agents across sales, marketing, and operations, helping your teams save time and focus their attention on the deals, campaigns, and business operations that demand their unique skills and expertise.

Playbook

Here’s an example playbook of using agentic AI within a manufacturing company:

Sector snapshot

Here’s what agentic AI could look like at different organizations:

Looking to bring agentic AI to your manufacturing company? Make the process simple with WebFX’s AI agent consulting services!

5. Digital-first marketing

Traditional marketing brings some of the highest acquisition costs (a lead from a trade show, for example, can cost upward of $600). Digital marketing offers manufacturers a cost-effective alternative with cost-per-lead (CPLs) ranging from $58 to $1000 (depending on the sector, tactic, and strategy).

That’s why manufacturing companies are moving their budgets and taking a digital-first approach to marketing.

Playbook

Here’s a preview of what your digital-first marketing playbook could look like:

Sector snapshot

See what a digital-first marketing approach could look like at your organization with these examples:

Navigate this year’s manufacturing trends with industry experts

Reading a playbook is one thing. Making it happen is another.

At WebFX, we help manufacturers bring playbooks to production floors with custom solutions from our award-winning team of industry experts. Discover how our team can help yours, from improving your visibility in AI search to building AI agents that actually work, by contacting us online today!

Or, explore our AI search optimization plans or AI agent consulting services.