Over the past 80 years, the United States faced a persistent issue of in-state manufacturing decline, marked by a shift towards research and development rather than domestic production. The trend led to a significant loss of manufacturing jobs, peaking in the 2000s with a 33% decrease. However, technology is now reshaping U.S. manufacturing, offering a modern and advanced system. Investing in this upward trend, with an expected 5.2% rise in wages and benefits, can usher in a prosperous new era for American manufacturing. Given the industrial sector’s vast potential, these manufacturing stocks are particularly appealing due to their strong growth prospects.

Packaging Corporation of America (PKG)

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) is a packaging company established over 150 years ago that produces containerboards, specialty papers and commodities. It is currently the third-largest producer of containerboards.

PKG’s stock is currently at $164.38 with 24% YoY growth, making it have the highest year-over-year (YoY) out of all its main competitors by over 10%. 

The company demonstrated an upward trend in revenue per year, growing from $6.96B to $8.48B from 2019 to 2022. Additionally, there was an 86.48% increase in free cash flow over the last two years and a 25% increase in dividends. Debt has also been decreasing steadily, and it has been able to convert its long-term debt into short-term debt.

The packaging market has experienced steady growth over the last decade and has a CAGR of 3.89% over the 2024-2029 period. Currently, the market size is expected to be 1.38 trillion by 2029.

Over the past few years, PKG has had a strong focus on sustainability and has a set goal of reducing greenhouse emissions by 30%. Recently, it has also acquired TimBar Packaging and Display, expanding its already excellent variety of goods and elevating its presence in the industry. This year, PKG plans to upgrade its mills, getting the latest technology to keep up with consumer demand.

PKG has demonstrated outstanding performance and showcased its steady change into sustainable packing through its acquisitions, showcasing the stock’s potential.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is a global company that manufactures semiconductor chips, along with additional hardware for computer processing units (CPU) and graphic processing units (GPU). Its year-to-date performance increased by 25.7%. The stock has a 52-week high of 174.65 and a 52-week low of 71.54. It’s also part of several popular indices. 

Additionally, Yahoo! Finance says that shareholders earned a 43% CAGR over the last five years. The semiconductor market size is projected to grow from $573.44 billion in 2022 to $1,380.79 billion in 2029, with a CAGR of 12.2%. 

Since the start of 2024, the stock has increased by almost 26%. Moreover, AMD’s market cap is $272.8B, and its revenue was $22.11B last year. It had a free cash flow (FCF) of $1.32 billion. 

AMD’s success is the result of the rising emergence of generative AI-related applications. Because AMD produces GPUs and CPUs necessary to run these AI-related applications, it has been doing well. 

The “strong demand for nanometer technologies and robust AI-related demand” will continually boost AMD’s stock this year.

Agilent Technologies (A)

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) is a global company that provides instruments, software, services and consumables for laboratories. The company has performed well with a profit margin of 18.15%, revenue of $6.83B and a gross profit of $3.465B.

According to 15 stock analysts, A’s stock could experience up to a 25.7% increase over the next 12 months, with a forecasted high price of $165.

The global chemicals market grew from $4,700.13 billion in 2022 to $5,079.29 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1% showcasing significant growth. It is expected to hit $6,851.59 billion in 2027.

A’s strategic agreement with PathAI is expected to enhance the company’s shares greatly. The collaboration provides an end-to-end AI-powered assay creation process, including companion diagnostics made possible by digital pathology. With A’s pathology workflow experience and PathAI’s algorithm development platform, the agreement establishes A as a prominent participant in precision medicine, supporting innovation in the fast-changing biopharmaceutical industry.

On the date of publication, Michael Que did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

The researchers contributing to this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.