September 2025 Board Member Newsletter Article

Minnesota’s strength, challenges and opportunities ahead of Manufacturing Month

Doug Loon
President and CEO
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

Every October, we celebrate Manufacturing Month in Minnesota – a chance to recognize the people and businesses that make things, build communities and drive our economy forward. Manufacturing is not only one of Minnesota’s signature strengths, it’s also one of the most important industries for every local community across our state.

The numbers speak for themselves:

• Manufacturing makes up 12% of Minnesota’s total economy, producing $46 billion in GDP in 2024.
• More than 320,000 Minnesotans – about 1 in 8 workers – are employed in manufacturing.
• The industry has the highest multiplier effect of any sector. Every $1 spent in manufacturing generates $2.78 in economic activity across the broader economy.
• Minnesota is a national hub, ranking among the top states in subsectors ranging from medical devices and industrial machinery to food products and doors and windows.

Importantly, manufacturing matters in every corner of Minnesota. Roughly half of all jobs are in Greater Minnesota and half in the metro, making it one of the few sectors that is truly statewide. For many local economies, manufacturers are not only top employers but also anchor customers for local banks, utilities, professional services and countless other small businesses.

That is the opportunity – and the responsibility – before us.

Strengths and headwinds
For decades, Minnesota’s manufacturers outpaced national averages in both growth and innovation. From 2000 to 2019, our state ranked 6th nationally in manufacturing GDP growth – a bright spot during a time when other sectors lagged behind. Our advanced manufacturing base, particularly in med-tech and electronics, was a key driver of that success.

This included subsectors such as medical devices, semiconductors, industrial controls, and sheet metal products – all areas where Minnesota ranks among the top five states nationally. In fact, Minnesota is #1 or #2 in sixteen distinct subsectors, ranging from printed circuit boards to recreational transportation equipment to doors and windows. These are areas of true competitive advantage.

But in recent years, momentum has slowed. Since 2019, Minnesota has slipped to 44th in manufacturing GDP growth among states. Some subsectors, like printing, plastics and fabricated metals, have faced steep declines. Others, like computer and electronic products, went from double-digit growth in prior decades to flat or modest contraction.

The data also remind us that the story of manufacturing jobs is more complex than the popular narrative of steady decline. While Minnesota did lose more than 100,000 jobs in the early 2000s – a period shaped by two recessions and the “China shock” – the decades before and after that saw net job growth in manufacturing. Workers entering the field in 2011, for example, experienced nearly a decade of uninterrupted job gains.

And even as employment hasn’t returned to early-2000s levels, manufacturing output has continued to climb. Since 2000, Minnesota’s real manufacturing GDP has grown by more than 50%, reflecting productivity gains from automation, technology and advanced production processes.

It’s important for us to understand this trend not as a story of permanent decline, but of transition. The underlying strengths of Minnesota manufacturing – its advanced industries, skilled workforce and global competitiveness – remain. But to regain momentum, we must tackle challenges like rising costs, regulatory complexity and workforce availability.

Why this matters for local chambers
As leaders in your communities, you know the story best: manufacturers are employers, customers and community leaders. They sponsor local teams, invest in workforce training and support local nonprofits, among many other things. Their ripple effect sustains restaurants, contractors and service providers on your main streets.

This is why the Minnesota Chamber continues to prioritize manufacturers – through our Manufacturers’ Council, our Grow Minnesota!® program, sustainability solutions like Energy Smart and Waste Wise, and tailored tools like ChamberHealth. These resources are designed to help local chambers and their members connect manufacturers with the support they need to grow and compete.

Manufacturers also give Minnesota global reach. In 2024, manufacturing exports totaled $25 billion – 93% of all goods exported from the state. These products reached more than 200 countries, with top destinations including Canada, Mexico and China. Our competitiveness in exports underscores why local manufacturers are so critical, not only to our communities but to Minnesota’s place in the global economy.

Looking ahead
Manufacturing Month is a chance to remind Minnesotans of the sector’s outsized role in our shared prosperity. But it’s also a call to action. To remain competitive, Minnesota must continue to innovate, attract investments and retain talent, and ensure our policy environment helps – not hinders – growth.

This means we need favorable policies to enable manufacturing growth, rather than decline due to unnecessary economic headwinds. Too often we have seen growth in uncompetitive taxes, regulations and mandates that threaten investments in our state. Good policy making to promote growth should not be a political statement. Rather good policy should be a shared goal that enables investments and job growth in high skilled high paying careers.

Join us in celebrating innovators and manufacturers through our Coolest Thing Made program.  This contest coincides with Manufacturing Month and our shared way to promote and highlight the amazing products made here in Minnesota.

As you connect with your local manufacturers this October, I encourage you to lift up their stories. Highlight their contributions. Share the opportunities and challenges they face. Together, we can ensure manufacturing remains a foundation of Minnesota’s economy for decades to come.