President Donald Trump repeatedly pledged to revive U.S. manufacturing jobs and usher in a “golden age” of American-made goods. But, 16 months into his second term, he’s fallen far short of that goal, according to a new report.In April, private investment in manufacturing construction stood at $15.2 billion, a 16 percent decline from Trump’s inauguration. Over the same period, factory employment decreased by 77,000 jobs, The Financial Times reports.This lackluster data emerges despite the Republican president's sweeping tariff regime — designed to bolster domestic manufacturers — and his jawboning of executives to pour money in U.S. production. To date, 84 firms have announced nearly $1 trillion in investments.“Announcements are what people say they’re going to do, but dollars spent is what’s actually happening,” Didi Caldwell, the chief executive of Global Location Strategies, a manufacturing site selection firm, told the outlet.“From where we’re standing, we are not seeing signs of a manufacturing renaissance in the US,” Caldwell said. President Donald Trump vowed to revive US manufacturing, but employment data and factory investment figures suggest a different reality, according to a new report (AFP/Getty)The White House pushed back against this idea.“President Trump pledged to revive American industry, and the Trump administration is delivering with a proven economic agenda of targeted tariffs, rapid deregulation, and investment-friendly tax cuts,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Independent. “The expectation-beating May ISM Manufacturing PMI is just the latest data point – along with robust specialty non-residential construction job growth, growing industrial output, and trillions in investment commitments – proving that this agenda continues to lay the groundwork for a manufacturing renaissance,” he added.Where progress has occurred, it's been modest. And according to industry insiders, Trump's tariffs — which the Supreme Court struck down in February — have had a decidedly mixed effect.Katie Farmer, the head of BNSF Railway, told the outlet she has witnessed a resurgence in “certain commodity areas,” such as steel. But, in other areas “we’ve really seen a plateau,” she said.“Because of some of the other uncertainty that exists in the world, and some of the uncertainty that frankly exists with the tariffs, I do think it’s keeping some of that capital on the sidelines,” Farmer said.American factory jobs peaked in 1979, when nearly 20 million people were employed in manufacturing. That figure has been dropping ever since, in part due to automation and global competition.Since Trump took office, the US lost 77,000 manufacturing jobs. Pictured: Workers build Rivian R2 SUVs at the manufacturer's assembly plant on May 19, 2026 in Normal, Illinois (Getty)Companies in Indiana, which boasts the largest proportion of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., said the industry is showing signs of recovery, but that the process is patchy and will take years to take effect. It’s a far cry from Trump’s claim last April that manufacturing would come “roaring” back to the country and “supercharge” domestic production.“We’ve built up the momentum and it’s continued, but it’s not this mushroom cloud of explosive growth,” John Urbahns, chief executive of the Greater Fort Wayne Inc business group, told the Times.Experts previously told The Independent that the 79-year-old president’s vision of a manufacturing boom was more of a pipe dream.“It’s just fantasy,” Dean Baker, a senior fellow and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said in March. “There’s literally nothing that would support his claims of a renaissance.”And, while Trump's tariffs have modestly boosted some domestic manufacturers, that improvement largely came at the expense of American consumers, who bore the bulk of the tariff costs, multiple studies have shown.