As market analysts continue to gauge the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, some domestic manufacturers are banding together to revitalize America’s manufacturing sector.
Formic, a robots-as-a-service automation provider for U.S. manufacturers, has joined the New American Industrial Alliance (NAIA) to grow accessible automation and workforce training initiatives in the U.S.
The company told FreightWaves in an email that the decision comes in the face of rising tariffs as more and more businesses work alongside NAIA to strengthen domestic production and supply chain resilience.
NAIA is a multisector trade association of builders, investors and policymakers who focus on reindustrialization by restoring America’s manufacturing capacity.
By joining NAIA, Formic will work alongside other automation innovators like Dirac, Palantir and Atomic Industries to further manufacturing and workforce development.
“We joined NAIA to work alongside companies like Formic who have priorities that extend beyond pure business profitability and goals but speak to a greater need to grow the current U.S. manufacturing sector,” said Filip Aronshtein, founder and CEO of Dirac, in the announcement. “Stabilizing and scaling our national capabilities around energy, manufacturing, and supply chain will ensure our ability to respond quickly to the country’s needs now or in the future.”
Formic stated it has trained over 1,000 employees at factories across the U.S. where its robots have been deployed. This training transitions workers who once packed and stacked boxes to operate automation systems and focus on more dynamic business tasks.
“The key to modernizing U.S. manufacturing isn’t only in breakthrough technology — that’s only the first step — it’s driving widespread accessibility and adoption of robotics and continued investment in building a skilled workforce to operate it,” said Formic CEO Saman Farid in the announcement. “NAIA’s commitment to create more manufacturing jobs and push the U.S. to make up a greater share of global manufacturing production aligns perfectly with Formic’s mission and goals.”
“Formic has changed the way more than 100 factories operate in the U.S. and has been a trailblazing example of how technology investments and automation will reindustrialize U.S. manufacturing,” added NAIA CEO Austin Bishop. “We’re thrilled that they’ve joined forces with NAIA and know they will play a central role in achieving our goals moving forward.”
Industry analysts have forecast a drop in the mobile robot market in the next two years, though they have said there is still the possibility for market growth over the next five years.
It’s possible that tariffs could have a positive impact on robotics domestically as more American manufacturers seek automation solutions for reindustrializing stateside.
Formic told FreightWaves via email that it saw a 9% increase in customer usage hours for February when compared to January, despite there being two fewer business days in February. The company also projects that it will hit a record 250,000 robot usage hours in March in its fastest growth period yet.
“Tariffs have created an opportunity for American manufacturers to rise to meet new demand for made-in-America products,” Farid said. “We’ve seen a sharp increase in American factories winning new orders and new business — however in order to become competitive and boost their productivity, the most forward thinking manufacturers in America have realized that technology — and specifically robotics — is an indispensable part of the solution. NAIA represents a group of technology companies committed to helping American manufacturers succeed and compete in this new world through the adoption of technology.”
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