Doc's note: World War II brought a new boom to industry, but not everyone was happy about the new technological advancements.
Today, Marc Chaikin, founder of our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics, explains how these changes created an "automation hysteria" and how we're seeing it play out again today...
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.
In reality... the opposite happened.
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 hundreds of robots dedicated to simple tasks like machining and welding.
And these days, robots can do a lot more than just put cars together. Heck, these robots have eliminated the human element from many mundane and repetitive tasks in the manufacturing process.
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...
We've all been hearing plenty of apocalyptic predictions about artificial intelligence ("AI").
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 narrative is still shaping the markets. As always, here at Chaikin Analytics, we'll be using the Power Gauge to find the best ways to capitalize... and navigate the market as it evolves.
Good investing,
Marc Chaikin
Editor's note: Marc's Power Gauge system flashed bullish on at least eight of the top 10 stocks every year from 2016 through 2024. Today, the Power Gauge is warning of a "January Trigger." Last week, Marc released his brand-new "Top 10 Stocks" list for 2026... along with a battle plan for the year ahead. Click here for all the details (and two free stock recommendations).
