The “Essential Economy” doesn’t grab headlines like AI or semiconductors, but without it, nothing in America moves. It’s the 95 million workers who pour concrete, weld steel, ship freight, wire grids, fix HVACs, and keep factories humming. It’s 3 million businesses across construction, manufacturing, logistics, energy, and services—the backbone of the country.
And according to Jim Farley, Ford’s outspoken CEO, this backbone is straining. Labor shortages, sagging productivity, and snail-paced infrastructure projects are throttling growth. If essential industries had matched the productivity gains of the past two decades, the U.S. economy could be 10 percent larger today. Instead, the gap between digital sectors and physical industries keeps widening: while information-sector productivity has surged 5.3 percent annually since 2015, construction, transportation, and manufacturing have been flat—or worse.
Farley isn’t content to watch from the sidelines. On September 30, he’ll host Ford Pro Accelerate, a high-stakes working session at the newly restored Michigan Central Station in Detroit. The event will bring together business leaders, policymakers, and disruptors to hash out solutions. The Aspen Institute is backing the initiative, framing it as an urgent call to action for the economy’s often-overlooked core.
“We need to summon the best ideas and put innovators to work on problems right under our noses,” Farley says. “This isn’t just a smart investment in America’s future—it’s essential.”
For Ford, the message is personal. While Mustang Mach-Es and F-150 Lightnings light up the press, it’s Ford Pro—the commercial arm that serves work fleets—that carries the lion’s share of America’s Essential Economy. With more than 40 percent of U.S. fleet share across all segments, Ford’s vans, trucks, and upfit solutions are as common on job sites as hard hats. The company’s strategy now goes beyond sheet metal, offering an integrated platform of vehicles, software, and services aimed at helping businesses do more with less.
That “less” is the issue: fewer skilled workers, shrinking margins, and long regulatory delays. In some cases, it takes a decade or more to get a new transmission line permitted. That means more strain on utilities, more bottlenecks in logistics, and more costs passed on to everyone.
Dan Porterfield, CEO of the Aspen Institute, says the partnership with Ford underscores the stakes: “Through these conversations, we share Ford’s commitment to building an economy that embraces innovation and ensures essential industries can thrive.”
For Car and Driver readers, here’s the throughline: this isn’t just about policy wonks in a restored train station. It’s about the future of the trucks, vans, and tools that make the modern world go. Whether it’s an F-Series Super Duty towing a generator to a job site or an E-Transit van hauling goods across town, the Essential Economy runs on wheels—and Ford wants to keep those wheels turning faster, smarter, and stronger.
September’s Detroit summit won’t solve the productivity puzzle overnight. But by convening the right voices under the vaulted ceilings of Michigan Central, Farley is betting that America can, once again, build its way forward.
Source: Ford