21 U.S. Manufacturing Statistics - 2023
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Manufacturing is one of the largest industries in the U.S.
For hundreds of years, the U.S. had led the way in manufacturing goods. Since 1946, Spex has played a relatively small—yet important—role in the U.S. manufacturing industry. Every month, we ship millions of precision parts across the country, and all around the world.
We’re looking forward to continuing to advance and move forward with other U.S. manufacturers. Manufacturing is a significant part of the U.S. economy, and a large number of people are employed in the manufacturing industry.
Here are 21 interesting statistics about the current state and size of U.S. manufacturers.
Economic and employment stats
1. Manufacturing accounts for 11% of the U.S. economy.
2. The manufacturing industry is the fifth largest employer in the U.S. at 12.1 million employees.
3. Fabricated metal manufacturing employs 1.38 million people.
4. Machinery manufacturing employs 1.04 million people.
5. Primary metal manufacturing employs 347,000 people.
6. There are 8.1 million people classified as Production Workers.
7. Non-production staff is anywhere between 25% and 50% of total headcount.
8. The average annual payroll for manufacturing employees is $61,127.
9. Transportation equipment manufacturing and food manufacturing are the two largest sub-sectors.
10. Primary metal manufacturing ships $200 billion worth of goods annually.
11. Fabricated metal manufacturing ships $347 billion worth of goods annually.
12. The total cost of materials (raw materials, resales, fuel, electricity, and contract work) is $2.8 trillion.
13. Manufacturers export 59.2% of total U.S. exports.
14. U.S. Manufacturers export $861.6 billion worth of goods annually.
15. U.S. manufacturers ship $5.8 trillion worth of goods annually.
Factory technology stats
16. 72% of all manufacturing is still performed by humans, and 71% of value is created by humans.
17. 3D printing is a $16.75B industry, and expected to grow to $75B by 2030.
18. The average factory is over 25 years old with machinery that is, on average, 9+ years old. (1)
19. 91% of industrial companies are investing in digital factories. (1)
State manufacturing stats
20. California is the only state to ship $500 billion worth of manufactured goods.
21. Six states (Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio) ship between $200 and $499 billion worth of goods.
Other sources: 2020 Annual Survey of Manufacturers
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