Manufacturing company CEOs have many issues to mind these days. One of them high up on the list is artificial intelligence (AI), according to the latest survey of CEOs by Xometry, a B2B marketplace for manufacturing services.

97% of CEOs have deployed — or are planning to deploy — AI within the next two years. Of the CEOs embracing AI, 60% have already realized a significant return on their investment, with 33% expecting strong results “in the coming year.”

The top areas where AI plays a crucial role are procurement (70%), supply chain management (61%), quality control (43%) and automation (41%). 85% would support some sort of federal regulation of AI.

“American manufacturers have made tremendous progress over the last few years embracing AI, rolling out new digital tools, and reshoring their operations,” says Randy Altschuler, CEO of Xometry. “They’ve also embraced new high-tech processes and benefited from Federal policies aimed at increasing American manufacturing competitiveness on the global stage. It’s no stretch to say American manufacturing is the new high-tech industry.”

Other issues that are top of mind for manufacturing CEOs include:

• 88% agree the health of American manufacturing depends on reshoring. 80% say they have already successfully reshored or are undergoing plans to reshore all or portions of their operations to further insulate their companies from macroeconomic and geopolitical disruptions.
• All CEOs say they are rapidly deploying digital technologies across their organization. 65% also say their efforts are “moving along” (55%) or “well ahead of the game” (10%), with the remaining (35%) “just getting started.”
• The overwhelming majority (94%) are “somewhat likely” (19%) “very likely” (60%) or “definitely” (14%) raising prices in 2024.
• 61% of CEOs plan to increase hiring in 2024, with another 36% maintaining existing employment levels. However, two-thirds (63%) said they continue to have difficulty finding qualified employees.
• 80% plan to increase wages this year.

“America’s electorate supports public-private partnerships that strengthen American manufacturing, including worker training in automation, robotics and AI,” Altschuler says.

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