FRANKFURT, Germany—More than 4.2 million robots were employed in factories worldwide in 2023—a record high and an increase of 10 percent from 2022.

U.S. manufacturers have faced significant headwinds this year: supply chain problems, a skilled labor shortage, inflation, and the war in Ukraine. And yet despite these issues—or perhaps, because of them—manufacturers continued to invest in people, plants and equipment.

In February 2020, U.S. manufacturers employed nearly 12.8 million people. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. In an instant, the country lost 1 million manufacturing jobs as governments and businesses scrambled to figure out how best to stop the spread of the disease.

Last December, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law. The largest shake-up to the federal tax code in more than 30 years, the law includes myriad changes that will benefit manufacturers.

U.S. manufacturing continued to roll in 2017. Want proof? Look no further than Toyota Motor Corp. In September, the world’s largest automaker announced that it will invest $374 million at five U.S. factories.

Overall, 2016 has been a pretty good year for U.S. manufacturing. In every industry covered by ASSEMBLY magazine, manufacturers were investing in people, plants and equipment.