For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, May 16, 2018 USDL-18-0785

Technical information: (202) 691-5606 • mfp@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mfp

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS IN MANUFACTURING - 2016

Manufacturing sector multifactor productivity declined 3.2 percent in 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics reported today. (See chart 1, table A.) This was the largest annual decline in manufacturing multifactor 

productivity since the series started in 1987. (See table 1.) The multifactor productivity decline in 2016 reflected a 

0.4-percent increase in sectoral output and a 3.6-percent increase in combined inputs. The decrease in multifactor 

productivity followed a 1.5-percent decrease in 2015.

Multifactor productivity is calculated by dividing an index of real sectoral output by an index of combined units

of labor input, capital services, and intermediate inputs. Multifactor productivity annual measures differ from BLS 

quarterly labor productivity or output per hour measures because the former also includes information on capital 

services, shifts in the composition of the workforce, and intermediate inputs. 

Durable manufacturing sector multifactor productivity decreased 2.2 percent in 2016. The decline reflected a 

1.2-percent decrease in sectoral output and a 1.0-percent increase in combined inputs. Nondurable 

manufacturing sector multifactor productivity decreased 3.6 percent in 2016. The decline reflected a 1.4-

percent increase in sectoral output and a 5.2-percent increase in combined inputs. (See table C, table 3.)

Chart 1. Multifactor productivity in the manufacturing, durable manufacturing, and nondurable 

manufacturing sectors, 1987-2016

 Annual percent change 

-6.0

-4.0

-2.0

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

Manufacturing Durable manufacturing Nondurable manufacturing
- 2 -

Among the 18 manufacturing industries, 14 experienced declines in multifactor productivity in 2016. The largest

declines in multifactor productivity were in the chemical products and apparel, leather, and allied products 

industries. Printing and related support activities and miscellaneous manufacturing industries showed the largest 

gains in multifactor productivity. Sectoral output increased in 8 industries and combined inputs increased in 12

industries in 2016. (See chart 2, table 3.)

Chart 2. Percent of manufacturing industries with increases in multifactor productivity, sectoral output,

and combined inputs, 2012-16

Chart 3 displays the contributions of three-digit manufacturing industries to manufacturing sector multifactor 

productivity. Contributions take into account the relative importance of each industry to total manufacturing

output. Chemical products and food manufacturing made the largest negative contribution to manufacturing sector 

multifactor productivity. Miscellaneous manufacturing and primary metal products made the largest positive

contribution to manufacturing sector multifactor productivity in 2016, partially offsetting the overall productivity 

decline.

Chart 3. Contributions of manufacturing industries to manufacturing sector multifactor productivity, 2016

Note: The contributions of manufacturing industries may not sum to manufacturing sector multifactor productivity due to independent rounding.

22

67 72

50

72

67

17

61 67

39

44

61

22

44

67

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Increasing multifactor productivity Increasing sectoral output Increasing combined inputs

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

-0.9 -0.7 -0.5 -0.3 -0.1 0.1

Chemical products

Food manufacturing

Transportation equipment

Machinery

Fabricated metal products

Computer and electronic products

Petroleum and coal products

Paper manufacturing

Apparel, leather and allied products

Plastics and rubber products

Textile mills and textile product mills

Wood products

Nonmetallic mineral products

Furniture and related products

Printing and related support activities

Electrical equipment, appliances, and components

Primary metal products

Miscellaneous manufacturing

Percentage point
- 3 -

Trends in the manufacturing sector

Manufacturing sector output grew in 2016 with an annual increase of 0.4 percent compared to the 0.6-percent 

decline in 2015. The 3.6-percent increase in combined inputs was driven by a 9.4-percent growth in materials, 

larger than the 0.9-percent increase in combined inputs in 2015. (See table 1.) 

Multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector grew at an average annual rate of 0.7 percent from 1987 to 

2016 with sectoral output increasing at an average annual rate of 1.6 percent, faster than the 0.9-percent average 

annual rate of increase in combined inputs. During the same period, labor productivity grew at an average annual 

rate of 2.8 percent. (See table A.) Of the 2.8-percent average annual increase in labor productivity, multifactor 

productivity contributed 0.7 percent, capital intensity contributed 0.7 percent, intermediate inputs intensity 

contributed 1.2 percent, and labor composition contributed 0.2 percent. (See table B.)

For the most recent 2007-16 period, multifactor productivity declined at a 0.8-percent average annual rate as 

compared to an increase of 1.7 percent during the 2000-07 period. (See table A.) Sectoral output decreased at a

0.5-percent annual average rate and combined inputs rose at a 0.3-percent annual average rate over the 2007-16

period.

Revised measures

Annual rates of multifactor productivity and related series were revised historically for all three sectors. (See table 

D.) The revisions were a result of changes to BLS methodology for estimating intrasectoral transactions and labor 

composition, as well as revisions to the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) released on January 26, 

2018 and the Gross Domestic Product by Industry data released on November 2, 2017. Additional information can 

be found at www.bls.gov/mfp/sectoraloutputrevisions.htm.

Over the 1987-2015 period, manufacturing multifactor productivity increased 0.8 percent as previously reported.

Revisions over the 1987-2015 period resulted in a 0.1-percentage point upward revision to multifactor productivity 

in nondurable manufacturing, with a 0.1-percentage point downward revision to multifactor productivity growth in 

durable manufacturing. 

In 2015, multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector was revised upward 1.3 percentage points, the 

upward revision was due to a larger downward revision to combined inputs than to sectoral output. Multifactor 

productivity was revised upward 0.9 percent in the durable manufacturing sector and 1.5 percent in the nondurable 

manufacturing sector. Materials were revised downward 9.0 percent in manufacturing, 7.0 percent in durable 

manufacturing, and 6.2 percent in nondurable manufacturing. (See table D.)
- 4 -

Table A. Productivity, sectoral output, and inputs in the manufacturing sector for selected periods, 1987-

2016

Average annual growth

 1987-

2016

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2016

2015-

2016

Productivity

 Multifactor Productivity1 0.7 0.2 1.0 1.8 1.7 -0.8 -3.2

 Labor Productivity2 2.8 1.7 3.3 4.6 4.3 0.6 0.2

 Output per unit of capital services -0.7 -0.8 0.5 0.3 -0.1 -2.2 -1.9

Sectoral Output 1.6 1.8 3.2 4.5 1.1 -0.5 0.4

Inputs

 Combined Inputs3 0.9 1.6 2.2 2.6 -0.6 0.3 3.6

 Labor input4 -0.6 0.6 0.6 0.3 -2.4 -0.8 0.5

 Hours -1.1 0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -3.1 -1.1 0.1

 Labor composition5 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.4

 Capital services 2.3 2.7 2.7 4.2 1.3 1.8 2.3

 Energy -0.9 1.9 1.6 6.6 -3.9 -4.8 -0.8

 Materials 1.4 0.4 3.2 4.3 0.3 0.1 9.4

Purchased business services 1.5 5.3 3.2 1.3 -0.5 0.9 1.3

1 Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy, materials, and purchased business services.

 2 Output per hour worked.

3 The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar costs.

4 Hours at work by age, education, and gender group are weighted by each group’s share of total wages.

5 Ratio of labor input to hours.
- 5 -

 1 Output per hour worked.

 2 Capital intensity multiplied by capital's share of current dollar costs.

 3 Information processing equipment per hour multiplied by its share of current dollar costs.

 4 Research and development per hour multiplied by its share of current dollar costs. 

 5 Software and artistic originals per hour multiplied by their share of current dollar costs.

 6 Intermediate inputs per hour multiplied by intermediate inputs’ share of current dollar costs.

 7 Energy per hour multiplied by energy’s share of current dollar costs.

 8 Materials per hour multiplied by materials’ share of current dollar costs.

 9 Purchased business services per hour multiplied by purchased business services’ share of current dollar costs.

 10 Labor composition multiplied by labor’s share of current dollar costs.

 11 Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy, materials, and purchased business services.

Table B. Labor productivity and contributions of capital intensity, intermediate inputs intensity, labor 

composition, and multifactor productivity to labor productivity in the manufacturing sector for selected 

periods, 1987-2016

Average annual growth

1987-

2016

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2016

2015-

2016

Labor Productivity1 2.8 1.7 3.3 4.6 4.3 0.6 0.2

 Contribution of capital intensity2 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.7 0.6

 Information processing 

 equipment intensity3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0

 Research and 

 Development intensity4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3

 All other intellectual 

 property products intensity5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

 All other capital services 

 intensity 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.3

 Contribution of intermediate 

 inputs intensity6 1.2 0.8 1.5 1.7 1.4 0.6 2.8

 Energy intensity7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 -0.1 0.0

 Materials intensity8 0.7 0.1 0.9 1.3 1.0 0.4 2.6

 Purchased business 

 services intensity9 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.2

 Contribution of labor 

 composition10 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1

 Multifactor productivity11 0.7 0.2 1.0 1.8 1.7 -0.8 -3.2
- 6 -

Table C. Multifactor productivity and related measures in the total, durable and nondurable manufacturing 

sectors, for selected periods, 1987-2016

Average annual growth

1987-

2016

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2016

2015-

2016

Manufacturing

 Multifactor productivity1 0.7 0.2 1.0 1.8 1.7 -0.8 -3.2

 Labor productivity 2.8 1.7 3.3 4.6 4.3 0.6 0.2

 Sectoral Output 1.6 1.8 3.2 4.5 1.1 -0.5 0.4

 Combined Inputs2 0.9 1.6 2.2 2.6 -0.6 0.3 3.6

 Capital Services 2.3 2.7 2.7 4.2 1.3 1.8 2.3

Labor Input3 -0.6 0.6 0.6 0.3 -2.4 -0.8 0.5

Energy -0.9 1.9 1.6 6.6 -3.9 -4.8 -0.8

Materials 1.4 0.4 3.2 4.3 0.3 0.1 9.4

Purchased Business

Services 1.5 5.3 3.2 1.3 -0.5 0.9 1.3

Durable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1 1.3 0.7 1.3 3.1 2.5 -0.4 -2.2

Labor productivity 3.2 2.0 4.4 6.0 4.5 0.5 -1.2

Sectoral Output 2.1 1.9 4.3 6.7 1.3 -0.8 -1.2

Combined Inputs2 0.8 1.1 2.9 3.5 -1.2 -0.4 1.0

Capital Services 2.1 2.6 2.3 5.4 0.9 0.9 1.1

Labor Input3 -0.5 0.4 0.5 1.1 -2.4 -0.9 0.3

Energy -1.6 1.2 0.9 6.4 -4.6 -5.7 -5.2

Materials 1.6 0.9 6.1 5.2 -1.3 -0.4 4.2

Purchased Business 

Services 1.1 1.7 3.8 2.5 -0.4 0.0 -2.6

Nondurable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1 -0.1 -0.4 0.4 -0.2 0.6 -0.9 -3.6

Labor productivity 2.0 1.2 1.8 2.9 3.7 0.6 1.0

Sectoral Output 0.8 1.7 1.9 1.4 0.6 -0.4 1.4

Combined Inputs2 0.9 2.1 1.4 1.6 0.0 0.6 5.2

Capital Services 2.4 2.8 3.0 3.0 1.5 2.4 3.2

Labor Input3 -0.7 0.9 0.9 -0.9 -2.5 -0.6 0.8

Energy -0.4 2.5 2.2 6.8 -3.3 -4.3 2.1

Materials 0.8 0.6 0.7 2.5 0.8 0.0 8.1

Purchased Business 

Services 1.9 10.0 2.4 -0.1 -0.7 2.1 5.8

 1 Output per combined units of hours, capital services, energy, materials, and purchased business services.

 2 The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar costs.

 3 Hours at work by age, education, and gender group, weighted by each group’s share of total wages.
- 7 -

Table D. Difference between revised and previous multifactor productivity and related measures, for 

selected periods 1987-2015

Average annual growth

1987-

2015

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2015

2013-

2014

2014-

2015

Manufacturing

 Multifactor productivity1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 -0.6 1.3

 Labor productivity 0.0 -0.1 0.1 -0.1 0.0 -0.2 -0.1 -2.0

 Sectoral Output 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 -1.8

 Combined Inputs2 -0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.4 0.6 -3.2

 Capital Services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 -0.5

Labor Input3 0.0 0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.0 -0.1 0.9 -0.3

Energy -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.2 1.7 -3.4

Materials -0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -1.0 0.8 -9.0

Purchased Business

Services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 -0.3

Durable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1 -0.1 -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -1.2 0.9

Labor productivity 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 -1.6

Sectoral Output -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 -1.5

Combined Inputs2 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.2 1.3 -2.5

Capital Services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -0.3 -0.6

Labor Input3 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 -0.4

Energy 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 4.0 -2.2

Materials -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.5 2.7 -7.0

Purchased Business 

Services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.9 -0.4

Nondurable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1 1.5

Labor productivity 0.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.2 -0.1 -1.6

Sectoral Output -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.2 0.0 -1.4

Combined Inputs2 -0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.0 -0.4 -0.1 -3.1

Capital Services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 -0.4

Labor Input3 -0.1 0.3 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 -0.1 0.7 0.0

Energy -0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.5 0.5 -4.1

Materials -0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.8 -0.3 -6.2

Purchased Business 

Services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 -0.3

 1 Output per combined units of hours, capital services, energy, materials, and purchased business services.

 2 The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar costs.

 3 Hours at work by age, education, and gender group, weighted by each group’s share of total wages.
- 8 -

Technical Notes

BLS includes a measure of the effects of changes in the composition of the work force for manufacturing sectors 

and industries. Labor input in manufacturing sectors and NAICS industry groups is obtained by chained 

superlative Tornqvist aggregation of the hours at work, classified by age, education, and gender with weights 

determined by each group’s share of total wages. The labor composition index estimates the effect of shifts in the 

age, education, and gender composition of the work force on hours worked. 

Capital Services

Capital services are the services derived from the stock of physical assets and intellectual property assets. There 

are 90 asset types for fixed business equipment, structures, inventories, land, and intellectual property products. 

The aggregate capital services measures are obtained by Tornqvist aggregation of the capital stocks for each asset 

type within each of the eighteen manufacturing NAICS industry groupings using estimated rental prices for each 

asset type. Each rental price reflects the nominal rate of return to all assets within the industry and rates of 

economic depreciation and revaluation for the specific asset; rental prices are adjusted for the effects of taxes. 

Data on investment for fixed assets are obtained from BEA. Data on inventories are estimated using data from 

BEA and additional information from IRS Corporation Income Returns. Data for land in the farm sector are 

obtained from USDA. Nonfarm industry detail for land is based on IRS book value data. Current-dollar valueadded data, obtained from BEA, are used in estimating capital rental prices.

Labor Input

Labor input in manufacturing sectors and industries is obtained by chained superlative Tornqvist aggregation of 

the hours at work, classified by age, education, and gender with weights determined by each group’s share of total 

wages. The labor composition index estimates the effect of shifts in the age, education, and gender composition of 

the work force on hours worked. Hours at work data reflect Productivity and Costs data as of the February 1, 2018

“Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL-18-0153). The growth rate of labor composition is defined as the 

difference between the growth rate of weighted labor input and the growth rate of the hours.

The growth rate of labor composition in manufacturing may be underestimated due to limitations in the source 

data. The education proxy does not include training certifications and licensing. The proxy only includes number 

of years of schooling.

Additional information concerning data sources and methods of measuring labor composition can be found in 

“Changes in the Composition of Labor for BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures, 2014” 

(www.bls.gov/mfp/mprlabor.pdf).

Intermediate Inputs

In manufacturing, intermediate inputs consist of energy, materials, and purchased business services, and represent 

a large share of production costs. Research has shown that substitution among inputs, including intermediate 

inputs, affects productivity change. Therefore, it is important to account for intermediate inputs in productivity 

measures at the industry level. In contrast, the more aggregate productivity measures compare "value-added" 

output with two classes of inputs, capital and labor. Because of these differences in concepts and methodology, 

productivity change in manufacturing cannot be directly compared with changes in private business or private 

nonfarm business. 

Data on intermediate inputs are obtained from BEA based on BEA annual input-output tables. Tornqvist indexes 

of each of these three input classes are derived at the three-digit NAICS level and then aggregated to the 

manufacturing sectors. Materials inputs are adjusted to exclude transactions between establishments within the 

same sector.
- 9 -

Combined Inputs

The five input indexes (capital services, labor, energy, materials, and purchased business services) are combined 

using chained superlative Tornqvist aggregation, applying weights that represent each component's share of total 

costs. Total costs are defined as the current dollar value of manufacturing sectoral output. Most taxes on 

production and imports, such as excise taxes, are excluded from costs; however, property and motor vehicle taxes 

remain in total costs. 

Capital Intensity

Capital intensity is the ratio of capital services to hours worked in the production process. The higher the capital 

to hours ratio, the more capital intensive the production process is. 

In a production process, profit maximizing/cost-minimizing firms adjust the factor proportions of capital and 

labor if the price of one factor falls relative to the price of the other factor; there would be a tendency for the firms 

to substitute the less expensive factor for the more expensive one. In the short run, changes in hours worked are 

more variable than changes in capital services. Changes in hours worked in business cycles can result in volatility 

of the capital intensity ratio over short periods of time. In the long run an increase in wages relative to the price of 

capital will induce the firm to substitute capital for labor, resulting in an increase in capital intensity.

Rising labor costs are, in fact, an incentive for firms to introduce automated production processes.

Industry estimates of capital to hours ratios can be obtained at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. 

Sectoral Output

The output concept used for multifactor productivity in manufacturing is “sectoral output”. Sectoral output equals 

gross output (sales, receipts, and other operating income, plus commodity taxes plus changes in inventories), 

excluding transactions between establishments within the same sector. In contrast, the output concept used for 

private business and private nonfarm business is “real value-added”. Real value-added output in private business 

equals gross domestic product less general government, government enterprises, private households (including the 

rental value of owner-occupied real estate), and non-profit institutions. Real value-added output excludes 

intermediate transactions between businesses.

The output index for manufacturing is constructed using a chained superlative index (Tornqvist) of three-digit 

NAICS industry outputs. Industry output is measured as sectoral output, the total value of goods and services 

leaving the industry. The indexes of industry output are calculated with the Tornqvist index formula. This index 

formula aggregates the growth rates of the various industry outputs between two periods, using their relative 

shares in industry value of production averaged over the two periods as weights. BLS industry output measures 

for manufacturing industries are constructed using data from the economic censuses and annual surveys of the 

Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, together with information on price changes, primarily from 

BLS. 

Multifactor Productivity

The manufacturing multifactor productivity measures describe the relationship between output in real terms and 

the inputs involved in its production. Multifactor productivity measures are not intended to capture the specific 

contributions of labor, capital, or intermediate inputs. Rather, they are designed to measure the joint influences on 

economic growth of technological change, efficiency improvements, returns to scale, reallocation of resources and 

other factors of economic growth, allowing for the effects of capital, labor, and intermediate inputs. The 

multifactor productivity indexes are derived by dividing an output index by an index of the combined inputs of 

labor, capital services, energy, non-energy materials, and purchased business services.
- 10 -

Other information

Comprehensive tables containing more detailed data than that which is published in this press release are 

available upon request at 202-691-5606 or at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. More detailed information 

on methods, limitations, and data sources of capital and labor are provided in BLS Bulletin 2178 (September 

1983), Trends in Multifactor Productivity, 1948-81 and on the BLS Multifactor Productivity website under the 

title “Technical Information About the BLS Multifactor Productivity Measures” for Major Sectors and 18 NAICS 

3-digit Manufacturing Industries at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprtech.pdf. General information is available on the 

BLS Multifactor Productivity website at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprover.htm. Additional data not contained in 

the release can be obtained in print or at http://www.bls.gov/mfp. A number of comprehensive tables set up as zip 

files can be obtained at http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. Methods for measuring manufacturing multifactor 

productivity are discussed in the July 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review, "Measurement of productivity 

growth in U.S. manufacturing”. See http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprgul95.pdf. 
- 11 -

Table 1. Manufacturing sector: productivity and related measures for the 1987-2016 period

Annual percent change from previous year

Year

Productivity Inputs

Output 

per unit Purchased

Labor of capital Multifactor Sectoral Capital business Combined

Productivity1 services Productivity2 Output Labor3 Services Energy Materials services Inputs4

1988 1.9 1.7 2.3 4.1 2.4 2.3 4.2 -2.7 8.6 1.7

1989 -0.2 -1.6 -0.8 1.1 1.7 2.7 -0.4 -0.2 5.9 1.9

1990 3.4 -2.5 -0.9 0.4 -2.2 3.0 1.9 4.1 1.6 1.3

1991 1.9 -4.2 -0.9 -1.8 -3.0 2.6 -0.3 -0.9 -0.6 -0.9

1992 6.0 2.3 -0.9 4.9 -0.2 2.5 -1.1 15.6 7.4 5.8

1993 2.4 1.1 2.4 3.6 1.9 2.4 3.3 -0.3 0.6 1.2

1994 2.7 2.7 2.4 5.3 3.3 2.5 3.6 2.0 3.9 2.9

1995 3.5 0.7 1.9 4.1 1.3 3.4 2.7 0.5 4.7 2.1

1996 4.2 0.1 0.0 4.2 0.5 4.2 -2.8 11.9 -0.6 4.2

1997 4.8 2.0 2.6 6.9 2.4 4.7 -1.9 6.1 3.8 4.1

1998 4.4 -0.1 1.3 4.7 0.8 4.8 4.7 4.3 4.9 3.4

1999 5.9 0.2 1.9 4.2 -1.3 4.0 23.7 4.6 0.6 2.3

2000 3.7 -0.7 3.4 2.5 -0.7 3.3 11.6 -4.5 -2.1 -0.9

2001 2.7 -6.1 -1.7 -4.1 -5.9 2.1 14.4 -6.9 2.7 -2.4

2002 7.9 -0.8 2.3 0.4 -6.1 1.3 -24.4 4.0 -1.2 -1.9

2003 6.3 0.4 5.1 1.0 -4.1 0.6 -12.3 -5.2 -5.4 -3.9

2004 2.9 2.0 2.7 2.2 -0.1 0.2 -5.1 2.7 -6.1 -0.5

2005 5.0 2.9 0.6 4.0 -0.4 1.0 7.0 6.6 6.9 3.4

2006 1.1 0.2 2.3 1.6 0.9 1.4 -7.6 -1.5 -3.0 -0.6

2007 4.5 0.8 0.9 3.0 -0.8 2.2 6.6 3.3 3.0 2.0

2008 -0.7 -7.5 0.3 -4.8 -3.2 3.0 -1.0 -9.9 -8.8 -5.1

2009 1.4 -13.1 -2.6 -12.0 -12.5 1.3 -27.4 -15.9 -3.1 -9.6

2010 5.7 5.2 3.8 6.1 0.7 0.8 -2.7 4.6 2.9 2.2

2011 0.6 1.6 -1.1 2.7 2.0 1.1 8.6 7.9 1.4 3.8

2012 -0.7 0.2 -2.9 1.5 2.5 1.3 5.5 6.6 8.0 4.6

2013 0.9 -0.1 0.2 1.8 1.1 1.9 -0.3 1.6 2.2 1.6

2014 -0.1 -0.6 0.3 1.6 1.9 2.2 -8.4 1.4 0.1 1.3

2015 -1.5 -2.6 -1.5 -0.6 1.1 2.1 -11.8 -1.7 5.5 0.9

2016 0.2 -1.9 -3.2 0.4 0.5 2.3 -0.8 9.4 1.3 3.6

1 Output per hour worked.

2 Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy, materials, and purchased business services.

3 Hours at work by age, education, and gender group, weighted by each group’s share of total wages.

4 The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar costs.

Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) develops productivity measures using output data published by the Bureau of the Census, U.S.

Department of Commerce, and modified by BLS. Compensation and hours data are from the BLS. Capital measures are based on data supplied by the 

BEA, U.S. Department of Commerce. See Technical Notes in this release.
- 12 -

Table 2. Manufacturing sector: indexes of productivity and related measures, 1987-2016 period

Indexes 2009=100

Year

Productivity Inputs

Labor 

Productivity1

Output 

per unit 

of capital 

services

Multifactor 

Productivity2

Sectoral 

Output Labor 3

Capital 

Services Energy Materials

Purchased 

business 

services

Combined 

Inputs4

1987 47.7 123.8 78.6 71.7 131.0 57.9 115.9 88.0 80.7 91.3

1988 48.6 125.9 80.4 74.6 134.1 59.3 120.8 85.7 87.7 92.8

1989 48.5 123.9 79.8 75.4 136.3 60.9 120.3 85.5 92.9 94.6

1990 50.1 120.7 79.0 75.7 133.3 62.7 122.6 89.1 94.3 95.8

1991 51.1 115.6 78.4 74.4 129.2 64.3 122.2 88.3 93.7 94.9

1992 54.1 118.3 77.7 78.0 129.0 65.9 120.9 102.1 100.7 100.4

1993 55.4 119.7 79.5 80.8 131.4 67.5 125.0 101.8 101.3 101.6

1994 56.9 122.9 81.4 85.1 135.8 69.2 129.5 103.8 105.2 104.5

1995 58.9 123.7 83.0 88.5 137.5 71.6 133.0 104.4 110.2 106.7

1996 61.4 123.8 83.0 92.3 138.3 74.5 129.2 116.8 109.5 111.2

1997 64.4 126.3 85.2 98.6 141.7 78.1 126.7 123.9 113.6 115.8

1998 67.2 126.2 86.2 103.3 142.8 81.8 132.7 129.3 119.2 119.8

1999 71.2 126.4 87.8 107.6 140.9 85.1 164.1 135.2 119.9 122.5

2000 73.8 125.5 90.8 110.3 139.9 87.9 183.1 129.1 117.5 121.4

2001 75.8 117.9 89.3 105.8 131.7 89.7 209.5 120.2 120.7 118.5

2002 81.8 116.9 91.4 106.2 123.7 90.9 158.5 124.9 119.3 116.3

2003 87.0 117.4 96.0 107.3 118.5 91.4 139.0 118.4 112.8 111.8

2004 89.5 119.8 98.6 109.7 118.4 91.6 131.9 121.6 106.0 111.3

2005 94.0 123.3 99.1 114.0 117.9 92.5 141.2 129.7 113.3 115.0

2006 95.0 123.5 101.4 115.9 119.0 93.8 130.5 127.8 109.9 114.3

2007 99.3 124.5 102.3 119.3 117.9 95.9 139.1 132.0 113.2 116.6

2008 98.6 115.1 102.7 113.6 114.2 98.7 137.7 118.9 103.2 110.7

2009 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2010 105.7 105.2 103.8 106.1 100.7 100.8 97.3 104.6 102.9 102.2

2011 106.4 106.8 102.6 108.9 102.7 101.9 105.7 112.8 104.4 106.1

2012 105.6 107.0 99.6 110.5 105.2 103.2 111.4 120.3 112.7 110.9

2013 106.5 106.9 99.8 112.5 106.4 105.2 111.1 122.2 115.2 112.7

2014 106.4 106.3 100.1 114.2 108.4 107.5 101.7 123.9 115.3 114.1

2015 104.8 103.5 98.6 113.6 109.6 109.7 89.8 121.8 121.6 115.1

2016 105.1 101.5 95.5 114.0 110.1 112.3 89.0 133.3 123.3 119.3

1 Output per hour worked.

2 Output per combined units of labor input, capital services, energy, materials, and purchased business services.

3 Hours at work by age, education, and gender group, weighted by each group’s share of total wages.

4 The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of current dollar costs.

Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) develops productivity measures using output data published by the Bureau of the Census, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, and modified by BLS. Compensation and hours data are from the BLS. Capital measures are based on data supplied by the 

BEA, U.S. Department of Commerce. See Technical Notes in this release.
- 13 -

Table 3. Multifactor productivity measures for manufacturing industries in selected periods, 1987-2016

Average annual growth

Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) develops productivity measures using output data published by the Bureau of the Census, U.S. 

Department of Commerce, and modified by BLS. Compensation and hours data are from the BLS. Capital measures are based on data supplied 

by the BEA, U.S. Department of Commerce. See Technical Notes in this release.

Manufacturing

1987- 2016 1987-1990 1990-1995 1995- 2000 2000-2007 2007-2016 2015-2016

0.7 0.2 1.0 1.8 1.7 -0.8 -3.2

Nondurable manufacturing -0.1 -0.4 0.4 -0.2 0.6 -0.9 -3.6

Food, beverage, and tobacco products -0.3 -1.5 1.3 -1.6 0.6 -0.9 -2.5

Textile mills and textile product mills 0.5 1.1 0.6 1.4 0.6 -0.5 -3.4

Apparel, leather, and allied products -1.4 0.1 2.6 0.7 2.2 -7.9 -14.3

Paper products -0.2 -0.4 -0.2 0.1 0.6 -0.8 -2.2

Printing and related support activities 0.8 0.3 -0.6 0.8 2.6 0.4 3.6

Petroleum and coal products 1.1 -1.1 1.7 3.1 0.3 1.0 -2.3

Chemical products -1.1 -0.8 -1.1 -0.5 0.8 -2.9 -6.2

Plastics and rubber products 0.4 0.8 0.2 1.3 0.2 -0.1 -1.1

Durable manufacturing 1.3 0.7 1.3 3.1 2.5 -0.4 -2.2

Wood products -0.1 1.2 -1.6 -0.5 0.8 -0.2 -1.5

Nonmetallic mineral products 0.0 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.0 -0.4 -0.2

Primary metals 0.6 0.9 -0.1 1.0 0.5 0.8 2.1

Fabricated metal products -0.4 -0.2 0.7 -0.3 0.5 -1.9 -4.2

Machinery -0.6 1.0 -2.2 -1.4 1.4 -1.4 -4.4

Computer and electronic products 6.6 5.0 9.2 14.1 7.2 1.4 -3.6

Electrical equipment, appliances, and 

components

-0.8 -1.9 -2.7 -2.7 1.6 -0.2 2.5

Transportation equipment 0.1 -1.5 -0.3 0.3 1.8 -0.4 -2.1

Furniture and related products -0.2 -0.7 0.3 0.6 0.3 -1.0 -0.5

Miscellaneous manufacturing 0.5 2.2 -0.6 0.9 0.8 0.0 3.4