Editor's note: COVID-19 has upended the supply chain...

Demand is soaring for everything from smartphones and cars to lifesaving medical supplies. But the pandemic has shocked the world's manufacturing processes. And The McCall Report editor Matt McCall says companies are adapting by welcoming an innovative technology with open arms...

According to Matt, 3D printing is changing the way entire industries do business. And as this megatrend enters the mainstream, he believes we can't afford to ignore it any longer.

In today's Masters Series – adapted from a recent special report for The McCall Report subscribers – Matt explains how 3D printing saved lives during the initial pandemic supply crunch... why this technology is so appealing to businesses... and what it will mean for the future of countless industries...

The Next Big American Tech Innovation Is Already Underway

By Matt McCall, editor, The McCall Report

COVID-19 changed the world as we know it...

Entire countries locked down, and goods that had seamlessly moved around the world were halted almost instantly.

This has led to one of the most severe supply-chain disruptions in history.

According to Hubs' supply-chain resilience report, 75% of U.S. companies have suffered a disruption to their manufacturing processes because of the pandemic and subsequent supply-chain issues.

Now, supply-chain disruptions aren't a new phenomenon...

Let's look back to 2007 – long before we had ever heard of COVID-19. That was the year that production of Boeing's (BA) new 787 Dreamliner was stalled because of a supply-chain issue related to a fastener. In order to prevent major delays, employees were sent out to Ace Hardware and Home Depot (HD) stores to buy replacement fasteners.

The shuffle was costly for Boeing, but it wasn't a matter of life and death...

Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases were so high in Italy in 2020 that it led to a shortage of respirator valves in hospitals. These valves weren't sold at local hardware stores, and there was no way to get the valves in time to save some of the more severely ill patients' lives.

To address the problem, Italian engineering startup Isinnova began using 3D printing technology to produce the necessary products. The company printed 100 valves in 24 hours – and saved many lives in the process.

Also at the height of the pandemic, there was a supply crunch for a handful of medical products. So HP (HPQ) jumped in to help by 3D printing 2.3 million pieces of medical equipment, including testing nasal swabs, ventilator parts, masks, protective gear, and more.

If 3D-printing technology had been mainstream in 2007, imagine how many millions of dollars Boeing would have saved in the midst of its fastener debacle.

We're not out of the woods just yet, but we can already look back at the COVID-19 pandemic through two lenses. In the first, it was horrible. The world was turned on its head, to say the least.

But through the second lens, we can see how it has also changed our world for the better in some ways. It led to the acceleration of multiple revolutionary megatrends... and 3D printing is one of them.

Today's economy is truly global, and it will only continue to swell as more countries experience rapid growth and an expanding middle class. That will lead to soaring demand for a variety of products ranging from cars to iPhones – and those goods will rely heavily on parts that come from all around the world.

As a result, we're going to need our supply chain more than ever. But whether it's the result of a pandemic, war, inclement weather, strike, or something else entirely... it's a near-certainty that we'll experience more supply-chain shocks in the coming decade.

Consulting firm McKinsey identified 180 instances in the current supply chain where one country is responsible for at least 70% of a product's production. That means there's a great risk that if production slows in that country for whatever reason, the supply chain will be disrupted.

So how do we prepare for that?

The easiest and cheapest way is through the continued adoption of 3D printing.

What makes 3D printing so attractive to companies is that location isn't an issue – the product can be produced locally and on demand. This type of innovation would disrupt and forever positively change the global $12 trillion manufacturing industry.

Let's say there's a trade war with China, and it decides to hold back a part that the U.S. desperately needs. With 3D printing, that's no problem! Companies in the U.S. can make the part at home, without having to rely on volatile (and sometimes even hostile) trade partners.

The technology is already making a positive difference in the industrial sector, where it's more commonly referred to as "additive manufacturing." In fact, by the end of the "Roaring 2020s" – what I believe will be the greatest 10 years in the stock market's history – it will be hard to find a manufacturing plant that doesn't implement 3D-printing technology.

According to research firm ARK Invest, the global 3D-printing market was worth about $12 billion in 2020. And that's nothing. By 2025, the industry is expected to be worth "10X" more, at $120 billion. McKinsey believes that figure could be even higher as the technology continues to be adopted globally.

The technology's potential reach is truly spectacular. Beyond the $12 trillion global manufacturing industry, nearly every other industry in the world either is or will soon be using 3D printing.

A company in Austin, Texas is 3D printing homes... Food can be made in labs using 3D printers... And several companies are working to perfect 3D-printed organs, which could end up saving thousands of lives.

There are countless opportunities in health care, retail, and transportation. But that's just the beginning of the endless possibilities.

This disruptive trend isn't new to many of you. It has been around for some time, but it's only just now beginning to really enter its hypergrowth phase – and some of that has to do with the pandemic.

We can't ignore it any longer. Today is the day to start building your exposure to the 3D-printing megatrend.

Here's to the future,

Matt McCall

Editor's note: The 3D-printing megatrend is just one of the many incredible opportunities Matt sees in the markets today. But as we come off the worst month for stocks since March 2020, folks are wondering if they should cut their losses and head for the hills...

On Tuesday, February 22, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, Matt is hosting a no-holds-barred "emergency briefing" to share his thoughts on today's market... and how to avoid making a critical misstep with your money. If you're nervous about what comes next for stocks, be sure to tune in to his important message. Get the details here.