U.S. manufacturing is experiencing supply-chain growth. Manufacturers have added 877,000 jobs over the last five years … for its first sustained job growth since the 1990s. What’s more, 230,000 small manufacturing firms have led this trend, adding the majority of new manufacturing jobs every year, while forming the backbone of U.S. supply chains.

Here’s a PDF of from the Executive Office of the President and the U.S. Department of Commerce detailing more of this trend.

In a related event, Craig Van den Avont, President of GAM, recently attended a meeting of the IMEC — the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center — to participate in a roundtable discussion with the U.S. Department of Commerce Manufacturing Council’s Sub-Committee on Innovation and Research and Development. On May 28, 2015, the roundtable assembled manufacturing leaders to highlight innovation in the American supply-chain ecosystem and devise strategies for small manufacturers to identify and invest in innovation.

Attendees discussed key points of the March 2015 Supply Chain Innovation Report, including challenges and benefits of innovating in the supply chain, relationships between small and large manufacturers, and initiatives to help small manufacturers increase research and development to improve the supply chain. Recommendations from these manufacturing leaders will be discussed further.

This meeting follows an initiative released by President Obama on March 18, 2015, focused on building public-private partnerships to strengthen the small U.S. manufacturers that anchor the nation’s supply chains by providing access to potentially transformative technologies that will close the manufacturing gap in the United States.

“I would like to thank all of the attendees for providing their insights and recommendations for the future of manufacturing in the United States,” said Van den Avont. “It was an honor to join other experts in laying a framework for innovation among manufacturers now and in the future.”

According to the supply-chain report, manufacturers can spur innovation by choosing suppliers not on the narrow basis of low piece prices but on Total Cost of Ownership calculations —  accounting for costs associated with the acquisition, transportation, and storage of products.