Companies in the US metal fabrication sector have increased their R&D investment by 26.4% compared to the previous year, according to the latest annual data. This growth is 2.5 times higher than the average across US sectors.
As the industry looks to improve efficiency, cover skill gaps, and challenge market competition, companies in the sector invested a total of $4.3 billion on R&D, up from $3.6 billion the previous year. This is in the top 10 highest YoY increase out of all US sectors.
The analysis finds the recent surge is part of sustained investment in innovation from the sector — there’s been a 91.7% rise in R&D investment over the last 5 years, and a 131.6% increase over the decade.
