| | | US Manufacturing Contracts for Sixth Consecutive Month
America cannot find its footing in manufacturing. The ISM Manufacturing PMI came in at 48.7 in August 2025, marking the sixth consecutive month of contraction. Although the figure has improved from July’s reading of 48, there is ongoing confirmation that capital is bleeding out of US manufacturing.
Again, US manufacturing was in a dire situation before Trump entered the office. The Inflation Reduction Act promised to fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was intended to expand American manufacturing, but regulation and an emphasis on clean energy initiatives drove business away. The Biden Administration had promised to add 1 million manufacturing jobs to the US but failed miserably.
This has nothing to do with America being uncompetitive. The American worker is among the most productive in the world. But if you add 30–40% in taxes and compliance costs on top of wages, while competitors in Asia operate under far leaner systems, capital naturally migrates to where it will be treated best.
Manufacturing in the United States has been in decline for decades due to systemic policy failures. The politicians will blame China and tariffs for the downturn. The contraction we see today is merely the continuation of a decades-long trend set in motion by shortsighted policies.
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America’s Corn Belt Dilemma
America’s Corn Belt experienced a record-breaking harvest this year, much to the dismay of farmers. The Department of Agriculture anticipates that corn production will reach 16.7 billion bushels this year, surpassing the 2023 record of 15.3 billion bushels. The conundrum is that demand is down, supply is up, and farmers are losing revenue.
Only 1.5% of America’s corn production finds its way into the grocery stores. Around 40% of America’s corn is used to feed cattle, a declining market due to climate change regulations. An additional 15% is exported to other nations, with Mexico coming in as the top importer, purchasing $5.5 billion in corn annually. Yet, an additional 37% of the domestic corn harvest is used to create ethanol.
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is calling upon Congress to permit year-round purchase of ethanoyl products:
“Corn growers are already marketing their corn for extremely low corn prices, and this massive projected corn supply without market-based solutions to increasing corn demand is already causing corn prices to fall further,” said Illinois farmer and NCGA President Kenneth Hartman Jr. “Because we need markets fast for this supply, we are redoubling and intensifying our call for Congress to pass pending E15 legislation that will allow for year-round consumer access to higher blends of ethanol and for the Trump administration to quickly broker deals that will open new foreign markets for corn.”
Corn prices have dropped from $4.20 to $3.90 per bushel. The average cost of production per acre is $897, according to the USDA, and he average cost to grow a bushel is $4.75. That means farmers will experience a $0.85 loss per bushel. This would be the third consecutive year of losses for American corn farmers as they took at $0.60 bushel loss in 2024, and a $0.58 bushel loss in 2023. American farmers are facing a crisis ahead if demand remains low, and it remains to be seen if new legislation surrounding ethanol will be sufficient.
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