Bring It Home

Is the U.S. built to make things, or just regulate them? On this end-of-year episode of Bring It Home, JP Hampstead breaks down trillions in manufacturing and industrial investment announcements from 2025, with many tied to direct negotiations with the Trump White House, and what they actually mean for America’s re-industrialization push. JP also dives into a powerful idea from Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang, reviewed by Charles Yang in American Affairs: China as an engineering state and America as a "lawyerly" society. Follow the Bring It Home Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens if Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merge into a true transcontinental railroad?On this episode of Bring It Home, JP Hampstead sits down with SONAR’s Mike Baudendistel to unpack why shareholders overwhelmingly support the merger, why some shipper groups are opposed, and the impact it could have on U.S. and North American reindustrialization. Follow the Bring It Home Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Officials from the Great Lakes Economic Development Council talk to JP Hampstead about the opportunities and challenges in driving capital investment into a cross-border region that happens to be one of the world's greatest industrial centers. Follow the Bring It Home Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JP Hampstead gives a presentation to shippers about what macroeconomic data tells us about production, employment, productivity, and the prospects for reindustrialization at FreightWaves' Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, TN. In this episode JP covers: - Why U.S. manufacturing output hasn’t recovered since the Great Recession - The surprising role of energy production in “industrial growth” - How offshoring reshaped America’s productivity curve - Why AI is now the largest driver of U.S. energy demand - Whether the big White House manufacturing announcements are real - Why nuclear power is surging back - How productivity gains reshape the workforce (100 years of data) - What the U.S. must fix to get industrial production unstuck Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://bringithome.us Subscribe to the Bring It Home YouTube Channel #FreightWaves #Manufacturing #Reindustrialization #SupplyChain #F3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zach Strickland, Director of Freight Market Intelligence at SONAR and host of Freightonomics, dives deep into the state of the American manufacturing economy. He reveals how stagnant industrial production stems from factors like dollar strength and automation. The conversation highlights the tension between consumer demand for cheap goods and domestic production needs. Zach stresses the importance of local manufacturing for national security and discusses the slow, intricate process of reindustrialization and its implications for the economy.

Economic Innovation Group researcher Connor O'Brien discusses his research on Ohio's high-tech workforce, the role of immigration in growth, and how to reform the H1-B lottery with JP Hampstead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brooks Mendenhall of Astronomy Magazine joins host JP Hampstead for a conversation about SpaceX's unique approach to manufacturing the Starship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dale Jordan from BDO USA discusses the tax implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill with JP Hampstead, including bonus depreciation, R&D expensing, and other provisions designed to stimulate manufacturing investment and reindustrialization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emmet Penney, a historian and energy writer, specializes in nuclear power advocacy and runs the Nuclear Barbarians podcast. In this discussion, he delves into the significance of nuclear energy in America's industrial revival. Topics include the U.S. power grid's state, the allure of nuclear's reliability and low emissions, and lessons from naval reactors. Emmet also addresses market dynamics of reactor sizes, Westinghouse's new plans for AP1000s, and the scale needed to meet future energy demands.

Jason Roberts, SVP of Digital Enablement at Mode Global, sits down in the studio with JP to talk about how freight brokerage's business models and technology have changed since the pandemic, and puts it in the context of Chattanooga's freight scene. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices