They thought Henry Ford II wanted to eliminate them... but he really gave them new life. After World War II, a period of prosperity and rapid industrialization began in the U.S.
Editor's note: Big technological changes always bring out the naysayers and fearmongers. It's a natural reaction to be fearful of change – particularly when it comes to automation.
Today's essay covers that idea. It's from Chaikin Analytics founder Marc Chaikin. We've published it a couple of times in the Chaikin PowerFeed, but Marc has adapted it to address a particularly special event that's taking place.
As he explains, amid a new age of "automation hysteria," investors can't ignore a huge trend...
They've Always Hated This Advancement
By Marc Chaikin, founder, Chaikin Analytics
They thought Henry Ford II wanted to eliminate them... but he really gave them new life.
After World War II, a period of prosperity and rapid industrialization began in the U.S.
Factories that previously churned out bombers and tanks to support the war efforts were reborn. They started producing everything from refrigerators to TVs to new cars.
But folks didn't embrace all the changes of the postwar boom...
Workers at Ford Motor's (F) factory in Detroit went on a 25-day strike in 1949. The strike paralyzed the assembly line. And it eventually involved more than 100,000 workers.
The striking workers left hundreds of half-finished Tudor sedans sitting on the factory floor.
Specifically, they hated Ford Motor President and CEO Henry Ford II's plan to "automate" production. He wanted to add a modern stamping plant, two engine plants, and a foundry.
In other words, Ford wanted to use machines to make things more efficient.
Understandably, the idea of machines replacing human auto workers at the factory led to an "automation hysteria." Practically everyone in the plant thought they would lose their jobs.
"I've seen a lot of big changes since I became a licensed broker in 1966," Marc Chaikin says. "Some changes come out of nowhere. Others you can see coming from a mile away. This one is a TOTAL no-brainer." It involves President Donald Trump, the Department of Defense, billions of dollars, Silicon Valley, and a MAJOR upgrade to the U.S. economy. Click here for the full story.
The Department of Energy says it could power America for millions of years. And both grizzled oilmen and clean-energy supporters love it – Energy Secretary Chris Wright called it "an awesome resource," while Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates are all directly invested. Here's the name of the company at the heart of it all.
Automation Is Here to Stay
The automation machines made cars faster than Ford's army of human workers. They could stamp, cut, weld, and spray paint faster – all without posing a risk to human health.
But the machines at the factory still needed human operators...
Someone had to move the cars from machine to machine throughout the assembly process. And the machines couldn't tell on their own if they needed to speed up or slow down.
The machines also couldn't tell if a bolt was out of place, a fender seemed out of shape, or if the paint was off. So when it came to ensuring quality, human workers were still essential.
After Ford introduced automation machinery, the company's annual production more than tripled from 1948 to 1957. And at the same time, its workforce grew 46%.
In other words, Ford's automation efforts didn't eliminate the army of human workers. The surge in productivity instead meant that the carmaker could scale its output many times higher.
Ford wasn't alone, either. The "golden age" of the U.S. car industry is well known today...
Every major carmaker pushed to automate its assembly lines around the same time. And annual U.S. car production boomed from 3.5 million in 1947 to 6.1 million in 1957.
That was only the start of U.S. carmakers shifting to more automation, of course.
The industry features roughly a third of all the country's industrial robots. An average carmaker operates 200 to 300 robots dedicated to simple tasks like machining and welding.
And these days, robots can do a lot more than just put cars together...
In 2023, the U.S. manufacturing industry reportedly had roughly 274 robot workers for every 10,000 human workers. That doesn't sound like a huge number. But these robots have eliminated the human element from many mundane and repetitive tasks in the manufacturing process.
According to preliminary data from the International Federation of Robotics, total installations of industrial robots in the U.S. car industry increased by nearly 11% last year.
Put simply, we've come a long way from the early days of automation – when workers feared for their jobs. Yet today, those early arguments are more familiar than ever...
I'm sure you've heard plenty of apocalyptic predictions about artificial intelligence ("AI"). That's the hot topic of the day.
But there's a kind of automation that most consumers aren't even thinking about. And one company involved is poised to disrupt one of the biggest parts of Americans' daily life...
It's all part of a new age of automation hysteria.
Of course, I don't have a crystal ball. So I can't say exactly what tomorrow will bring.
But I do know one thing for sure...
The AI craze will continue to be a massive, long-term tailwind behind tech stocks.
Investors that ignore this trend – and one company in particular – will regret it.
— According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks remain somewhat Bearish. Major indexes are all bearish.
* * * *
Sector Tracker
Sector movement over the last 5 days
Industrials
+1.14%
Utilities
+0.61%
Energy
+0.55%
Consumer Discretionary
+0.49%
Information Technology
+0.46%
Financial
+0.2%
Communication
-0.25%
Materials
-0.44%
Real Estate
-0.76%
Consumer Staples
-0.8%
Health Care
-4.22%
* * * *
Industry Focus
Homebuilders Services
3
22
11
Over the past 6 months, the Homebuilders subsector (XHB) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -13.43%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Very Weak, with more Bearish than Bullish stocks. It is currently ranked #15 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 2 slots over the past week.
Indicative Stocks
WMS
Advanced Drainage Sy
IBP
Installed Building P
FND
Floor & Decor Holdin
* * * *
Top Movers
Gainers
PODD
+20.88%
MCHP
+12.6%
SOLV
+5.4%
FSLR
+5.17%
TSLA
+4.72%
Losers
AKAM
-10.76%
EXPE
-7.3%
TKO
-5.5%
CRWD
-4.21%
VST
-3.66%
* * * *
Earnings Report
Earnings Surprises
UI Ubiquiti Inc.
Q3
$3.01
Beat by $1.04
ROAD Construction Partners, Inc.
Q2
$0.08
Beat by $0.14
OB Outbrain Inc.
Q1
$-0.20
Missed by $-0.14
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