According the revised data from the Federal Reserve, American factory output has yet to achieve the levels seen prior to the Great Recession, even six years later. These numbers correlate with lower than expected job creation in the manufacturing sector, as well as cuts to the defense and aerospace industries. Economists have noted that the U.S. economy has been growing slower than expected overall, and continues to show a large trade deficit in manufacturing.
See "U.S. factories still haven’t recovered from the recession", Jim Tankersley, August 21, 2015