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Ford Pro Accelerate is a forum to discuss strengthening the Essential Economy, made up of the 95 million workers in the U.S. across 3 million businesses in construction, manufacturing, service, energy, and logistics who build, move and maintain our country.
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25.08.25

A New Agenda to Power America’s Essential Economy

The Essential Economy is made up of 95 million workers across 3 million businesses in construction, manufacturing, service, energy, and logistics, and it is crucial for building, moving and maintaining our country. However, this sector faces a critical challenge: significant labor shortages and declining productivity. This threatens our economic resilience and growth.

Building on the conversation he started with Walter Isaacson at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Ford President and CEO Jim Farley is convening a group of leaders to discuss productivity solutions at Ford Pro Accelerate in Detroit on September 30 at the newly restored Michigan Central Station.

"We will need to summon all the best ideas and to convene the disrupters and innovators – and set them to work on solving problems too often overlooked but that persist right under our noses,” said Jim Farley. “Doing so isn’t just a smart investment for America’s future, it’s absolutely essential."

Ford Pro Accelerate is a forum to discuss strengthening the Essential Economy, made up of the 95 million workers in the U.S. across 3 million businesses in construction, manufacturing, service, energy, and logistics who build, move and maintain our country.
Ford Pro Accelerate is a forum to discuss strengthening the Essential Economy, made up of the 95 million workers in the U.S. across 3 million businesses in construction, manufacturing, service, energy, and logistics who build, move and maintain our country.

Aspen Economic Strategy Group research underscores the urgency:

  • A Deepening Productivity Divide: From 2015 to 2024, productivity in the information sector grew by 5.3 percent annually. In contrast, essential industries saw different results, with construction productivity averaging -0.1 percent, manufacturing -0.7 percent, and transportation -1.8 percent.

  • A Pathway to Greater Prosperity: If productivity in the Essential Economy had kept pace with its growth over 20 years prior, US GDP would be estimated 10 percent higher today.

  • A Growing Workforce Gap: Many of our nation's most foundational industries are being hampered by a generational decline in available skilled labor, creating downstream challenges for everyone.

  • Productivity Lost to Process: This decline is not just about technology, but also policy. Complex regulations mean it can take a decade or more to build a new energy transmission line, while skyrocketing costs hamper our ability to build critical infrastructure.
Ford Pro Accelerate is a forum to discuss strengthening the Essential Economy, made up of the 95 million workers in the U.S. across 3 million businesses in construction, manufacturing, service, energy, and logistics who build, move and maintain our country.

“The Aspen Institute is proud to partner with Ford on Accelerate. This important series of conversations on the Essential Economy will convene leaders from business, government, and civil society, responding to the call to action issued by Jim Farley at the Aspen Ideas Festival this summer,” said Dan Porterfield, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. “Through our programming, we share Ford’s commitment to bringing people together across generations, geographies, and viewpoints to explore what it takes to build an economy that embraces innovation and where essential industries can thrive.”

A common thread among many of these industries is their dependence on vehicles to do the critical jobs we all rely on. With over 40% share across all fleet – size segments in the U.S., Ford owns work – and Ford Pro customers are the beating heart of the Essential Economy. Ford Pro’s mission is to accelerate their productivity with an integrated platform of vehicles, software, and services, helping them navigate the diverse and demanding challenges they face today.

The working session will bring a powerful coalition of leaders from the heart of these essential industries to identify solutions to shared productivity barriers.

Interested in participating in Ford Pro Accelerate?

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Click here for the full list of Ford Pro Accelerate speakers.