Manufacturing Gathers Steam in the Midwest

This may come as a surprise, but they're still making things in the Midwest.

While much has been made of the decline in American manufacturing since 2001, especially in the years since the Great Recession, there's still strength in the sector, according to data from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

The lower Midwestern states of Indiana, Ohio and Illinois lead the nation in manufacturing, according to CNBC's analysis of NAM's data. Through a combination of regulatory changes, expanding direct foreign investment and the adaptation to new technologies, Indiana in particular has emerged as the best state in the U.S. for manufacturing. At the end of 2014, Indiana was home to 8,485 manufacturers employing 515,526 workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More from Financial Times.