. >> reporter: from cardboard boxmakers, to icemakers, to uniform manufacturers, factories across the u.s. are once again humming with activity. sure, the pace of production is slow but, there are some hopeful signs about the future. namely, the new orders index jumped to 52.3 in september from 47.1 in august. that suggests production will be humming this month and in november. in the last few years, manufacturing has been something of a sweetspot for the u.s. economy, which is usually the case after a recession. but, over the summer, factory activity stalled. and now there's concern it will be tough for the sector to regain momentum. >> what we're seeing now is that manufacturing over the past couple of months looks like it has slowed down to something tracking more like the overall economic growth. so, i think in terms of this cycle the best days for manufacturing growth may be behind us. >> reporter: others, however, are more upbeat, saying the u.s. manufacturing sector is alive and well. they point to a growing number of american companies looking to bring back to the u.s. jobs lo