New white paper examines structural challenges in North American tooling, including declining capacity, growing import dependence, workforce pressures, and the need for a new economic model
 
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) today released a new white paper, Rebuilding North American Tooling: Risk, Resiliency, and a New Economic Model, examining the condition of the tooling industry that supports automotive manufacturing across North America.

Dies, molds, fixtures, jigs, cutting tools, machine tools, and related equipment are foundational to vehicle production. CAR estimates that a new vehicle program requires more than 2,100 different tools, a major vehicle redesign more than 1,600, and even a vehicle model refresh more than 500. Without those capabilities, manufacturers cannot launch new programs, maintain production, or respond quickly to engineering changes.

“Tooling sits behind virtually every vehicle program, but its importance can be overlooked until a critical capability is no longer available,” said Elizabeth Krear, President & CEO of the Center for Automotive Research. “Rebuilding North American competitiveness requires addressing the underlying economics of capital, sourcing, workforce, technology, and long-term demand.”

Key findings from the research include:

• CAR’s interviews indicate that North America cannot launch, redesign, or refresh vehicles at scale without Chinese tooling. That dependence makes tooling a strategic chokepoint for automotive production and national security.
• In 2025, Taiwan, Vietnam, and China supplied a combined 88.2 percent of U.S. cutting tool and accessory imports by unit volume. China alone supplied 43.1 percent of industrial mold units, more than double the share of second-ranked Canada.
• North America’s tooling economic model is no longer competitive with China’s. Extended payment terms, limited access to affordable capital, customer-specific requirements, workforce shortages, uneven technology investment, and sourcing practices focused heavily on initial price all contribute to the challenge.
• Three decades of decline and deeply rooted structural problems demand a coordinated industry-government response, according to study participants.

The research also documents the contraction of North America’s tooling industrial base. U.S. metalworking machinery employment declined 46 percent between 1990 and 2026, the number of establishments declined approximately 15 percent from 2014 to 2025, and inflation-adjusted output in 2025 remained 33 percent below its 1997 peak. 

CAR’s interviews with automakers, suppliers, toolmakers, trade associations, and industry experts indicate that the competitive challenge extends well beyond labor costs. Access to affordable capital, engineering scale, advanced equipment, payment terms, workforce availability, technology investment, and sourcing practices all influence the ability of North American tooling companies to compete and reinvest.

The report also identifies digitalization, including standardized tooling records, interoperable systems, and advanced technologies, as an important part of redesigning how tooling is specified, sourced, financed, managed, maintained, and paid for.

“The goal is not to eliminate global sourcing,” Krear added. “It is to ensure North America retains the critical capabilities necessary to launch, maintain, repair, and adapt its manufacturing base.”

CAR concludes that rebuilding the region’s tooling ecosystem will require sustained investment and coordination among automakers, suppliers, toolmakers, financial institutions, and government. Study participants recommend establishing a joint industry-government effort to identify launch-critical capabilities, improve commercial and payment practices, support workforce and capital investment, and measure progress in restoring regional competitiveness.

Read the Full Report

Rebuilding North American Tooling: Risk, Resiliency, and a New Economic Model is available from the Center for Automotive Research.

The full report is available at https://www.cargroup.org/publication/rebuilding-north-american-tooling/