How's the Manufacturing Sector Doing: An Industry Overview Based on the 500 Largest U.S. Companies

IndustryWeek's annual IW U.S. 500 list of the largest publicly traded manufacturing companies in the country offers a glimpse into the health of the overall industrial economy. Editors have worked tirelessly in recent years to rid the list of companies such as Apple, Nike and Monster Energy that seem like industrial producers but in reality farm out the hard work of manufacturing to their supply chains.

Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger discusses who's up, who's down and describes a manufacturing sector stuck in the blahs, waiting for anything (well, one very-specific something really) to spark some excitement. Listen to hear about:

• Why some materials producers are having great years while others suffer
• How one product and one company is sinking the healthcare sector
• What's up with Ford, General Motors and Tesla