2026 Manufacturing Outlook: Jon Marshall

Marshall’s 2026 Projection: We’re going to see higher commodity prices than we’ve probably seen in five years, so that’s certainly a headwind. Still, I think there’s going to be subtle growth in the industry. What’s going to help is we’re starting to see longevity in the manufacturing industry for the first time in several years. So that’s going to help us turn a corner.

Springfield broke into the top 25 metros in the country for food manufacturing in a 2025 ranking by site selection firm Global Location Strategies. What is it about Springfield that measures up favorably in the food manufacturing space?
A lot of it is we’re located right in the heart of the country. We’re right off the (Interstate) 44 corridor. Springfield is big enough to support industry, but it’s also small enough to where it’s not overpopulated from an industry standpoint. I’ve been running manufacturing in the bottling beverage industry for right around 25 years. I’ve done it all over the country, East Coast, West Coast. It’s something different about the Midwest. Industry just works here. The manufacturing just works here. It’s kind of in the DNA of the people in this area. There’s that Show-Me State mentality. When you work all over the country, you can see it, and it’s just spread into the blue collar of the Ozarks. It’s not like anywhere else that I’ve been a part of in manufacturing. It’s just at the core of the people. So, there’s been a lot of levers that really have fallen in the way of us making the top 25, which is really kind of exciting.

The manufacturing industry has had to deal with tariffs all year on products such as aluminum and steel. Is the industry likely to be challenged by them even more in 2026, or are things looking to be more consistent?
It’s going to be challenging. The headwinds with commodities driven by tariff increase on costs is going to be kind of a tighter year than I can recall ever in the history of my experience in manufacturing. Things have changed quickly throughout the course of the last few years. So maybe in some of those headwinds we’ll see some relief and I’m hopeful of that. But right now, it’s probably going to be a challenging year no matter what industry you’re in, to set your goals and go and achieve those without running into additional headwinds from the tariffs. Because I don’t know if we’ve seen the full exposure of the tariffs at the moment, because I think they continue to kind of build on each other.

What’s the job market look like for manufacturing, both locally and statewide? Is it a struggle to find enough skilled workers?
I think it’s the opposite. I think there’s been a shift. In manufacturing in the Midwest, for a long time, it’s been legacy employees, 20-, 30-year experience. Those employees are starting to hit retirement age, so we’re kind of building from the ground up. I think trade schools are gaining popularity, which is important to support the industry. I think there’s some shift though too, as those employees that were 20, 30 years’ experience, as technology’s advanced, it’s definitely hit the manufacturing industry where some of the old nut-and-bolt skillset, those old-school troubleshooting guys, everything’s becoming more digital than it is mechanic and wrench in hand. It’s kind of playing into the younger generation coming into the manufacturing field and being more familiar with them than some of the older generation folks. That’s not only a challenge, but a tailwind at the same time. It’s definitely going to help the growth of technology and manufacturing hand-in-hand. The more computer-savvy kids that are coming into the industry is going to help us more than anything.