Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/mfp 

Historical, technical USDL 08-0857 

information: (202) 691-5606 For Release: 10:00 AM EDT 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, May 1, 2008 

MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS IN MANUFACTURING, 2006 

Multifactor productivity, defined as output per unit of combined inputs, was reported today by 

the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor for the manufacturing sector and 

for durable goods, nondurable goods, and three-digit (NAICS) manufacturing industries for the year 

2006. 

In manufacturing, the annual rates of multifactor productivity change for 2006 were: 

1.6 percent in the manufacturing sector, 

3.2 percent in the durable goods manufacturing sector, and 

 -0.2 percent in the nondurable goods manufacturing sector. 

 At 1.6 percent, multifactor productivity growth in the manufacturing sector grew more rapidly 

than the 0.4 percent increase posted in 2005 (as revised). This occurred as durable goods 

manufacturing productivity growth accelerated to 3.2 percent from 2.5 percent and nondurable goods 

manufacturing producitivity fell less, dropping 0.2 percent in 2006 after a 1.8 percent decrease in 2005. 

The 2005-06 annual changes are summarized in table A and further detail and historical measures are 

shown in tables 1 through 3. 

Multifactor productivity is designed to measure the joint influences on economic growth of 

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

factors, allowing for the effects of capital, labor and, in the case of the manufacturing sector, 

intermediate inputs (energy, materials, purchased business services). Multifactor productivity, 

therefore, differs from labor productivity (output per hour worked) measures that are published 

quarterly by BLS since it includes information on capital services and other data that are not available 

on a quarterly basis. 

The data sources and methods used in the preparation of the manufacturing series differ from 

those used in preparing the private business and private nonfarm business multifactor series and 

therefore the measures are not directly comparable. See BLS News Release, Multifactor Productivity 

Trends, 2006, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod3.pdf, for information on multifactor 

productivity measurement in the private business and private nonfarm business sectors. 
2

Table A. Compound average annual rates of growth for multifactor productivity, output per 

hour of all persons, output per unit of capital services and related measures in the 

manufacturing sector for selected periods, 1987 to 2006 

 1987-06 1987-90 1990-95 1995-00 2000-06 2005-06 

Productivity

 Multifactor productivity1 1.4 0.2 1.2 2.0 1.6 1.6 

 Output per hour of all persons 3.6 1.8 3.4 4.6 3.8 1.2 

 

 Output per unit of capital services 0.2 -0.1 0.5 0.3 0.0 1.3 

 

Sectoral Output 2.5 2.1 3.3 4.5 0.4 1.8 

Inputs

 Hours2 -1.1 0.4 -0.1 -0.1 -3.3 0.6 

 Capital services 2.3 2.2 2.8 4.2 0.3 0.5 

 Energy -0.7 2.0 1.6 -2.5 -2.4 -5.5 

 Non-energy materials 2.0 1.6 3.6 4.9 -1.5 -1.0 

 Purchased business services 2.6 5.5 3.0 2.4 1.1 2.0 

 Combined inputs3 1.1 2.0 2.0 2.5 -1.2 0.3 

1

Output per unit of combined labor hours, capital, energy, materials, and business services inputs. 

2

Hours at work of all persons. 

3

The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of nominal costs. 

Changes in 2006 

Multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector rose 1.6 percent in 2006 (see table A). This 

is the fifth consecutive year that multifactor productivity rose in manufacturing (see table 1). The 2006 

multifactor productivity gain reflected a 1.8 percent increase in sectoral output and a 0.3 percent 

increase in combined inputs. The increase in combined inputs was down from the sharp 3.3 percent 

increase in 2005. Capital services grew 0.5 percent in 2006, after remaining unchanged in 2005. 

Hours grew 0.6 percent in 2006, materials declined 1.0 percent and purchased business services rose 

2.0 percent. 

Within manufacturing, multifactor productivity for durable goods increased in 2006 while it fell 

for nondurable goods (table 3). The manufacturing industries that showed the largest multifactor 

productivity growth in 2006 were all durable goods industries; computer and electronic products (7.6 

percent), transportation equipment (4.0 percent), and wood products (3.0 percent). One durable goods 

industry showed the sharpest decline in multifactor productivity, nonmetallic mineral products (-3.1 

percent). The other two industries that showed sharp declines were nondurable goods industries; 

textile mills and textile product mills (-2.6 percent) and plastics and rubber products (-1.9 percent). 
3

Historical trends in manufacturing 

Multifactor productivity (output per unit of combined inputs) differs from labor productivity 

(output per hour worked) in the treatment of both capital and intermediate inputs (energy, materials, 

and business services). Labor productivity measures do not explicitly account for the effects of capital 

nor do they account for changes in the effects of intermediate inputs on output growth. As a result, 

changes in input intensity (the ratio of other inputs to labor hours) can influence labor productivity 

growth. In contrast, multifactor productivity treats capital and intermediate inputs as explicit factors of 

production and, therefore, is net of changes in input intensity. Historical trends in labor productivity 

growth can be disaggregated into the sum of multifactor productivity growth plus the contributions of 

the intensities of capital and of intermediate inputs. 

The relationship between labor productivity growth and these components can be seen in table B 

and chart 1. Chart 1 shows how the relative contributions of multifactor productivity, capital intensity, 

and intermediate input intensity shifted in the latter half of the 1990’s. These contributions have 

somewhat slowed during the 2000-2006 period. 

The contribution of each input’s intensity equals the change in the ratio of that input to hours 

multiplied by that input's cost share. Historically, the labor share is about a third of total cost, the 

capital share about a sixth, the materials share about 30 percent of total cost, and the business services 

share about 20 percent. The energy share is historically only about 3 percent of total cost. 

Multifactor productivity in manufacturing grew 1.4 percent annually between 1987 (the starting 

point of the series) and 2006 (see table A). Sectoral output increased at a 2.5 percent annual rate over 

the period and combined inputs rose an average of 1.1 percent per year. Of the 3.6 percent growth 

rate in output per hour (labor productivity), 1.4 percent can be attributed to increases in multifactor 

productivity, 0.5 percent to the contribution of capital intensity, 0.8 percent to changes in materials 

intensity, and 0.8 percent to changes in business services intensity (see table B). The remaining input, 

energy, was a very small share of total inputs; therefore, it made no discernable contribution to output 

per hour. 

From 1995 to 2000, multifactor productivity in manufacturing rose more rapidly than in previous 

periods, averaging 2.0 percent per year. Sectoral output growth increased to an average of 4.5 percent 

per year (table A) while combined inputs advanced an average of 2.5 percent per year, slightly faster 

than in the early 1990s. In the 2000-2006 period, multifactor productivity grew at a slower rate than in 

the 1995-2000 period, averaging 1.6 percent per year. Labor productivity slowed to a still-robust 

average annual growth rate of 3.8 percent per year. The contribution of capital intensity was slightly 

slower in the 2000-2006 period than in the 1995-2000 period, increasing an average of 0.6 percent 

annually (table B). The contribution of the intensity of information processing equipment grew 0.2 

percent while that of other capital services rose 0.4 percent during the 2000-2006 period. The 

contribution of materials intensity dropped to an average annual increase of 0.5 percent from the 1.4 

percent growth shown in the 1995-2000 period while the contribution of business services intensity 

accelerated to 1.0 percent. 
4

Table B. Compound average annual rates of growth in output per hour of all persons and 

the contributions of capital intensity, intermediate inputs intensity, and multifactor 

productivity, manufacturing sector, 1987 to 2006 

1987-06 1987-90 1990-95 1995-00 2000-06 2005-06 

Manufacturing

1

Growth rate in capital services per hour multiplied by capital's share of current dollar costs. 

Output per hour of all persons 3.6 1.8 3.4 4.6 3.8 1.2 

Contribution of capital intensity1 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.0 

Contribution of information 

processing equipment and 

software2 

0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.1 

Contribution of all other 

capital services 

0.3 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.4 -0.1 

Contribution of energy intensity3 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 0.0 -0.2 

Contribution of materials intensity4 0.8 0.3 1.0 1.4 0.5 -0.5 

Contribution of purchased business 

services intensity5 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.5 1.0 0.3 

Multifactor productivity6 1.4 0.2 1.2 2.0 1.6 1.6 

2

Growth rate of information processing equipment and software per hour multiplied by its share of total costs. 

3

Growth rate in energy services per hour multiplied by energy’s share of current dollar costs. 4

Growth rate in materials services per hour multiplied by materials’ share of current dollar costs. 5

Growth rate in business services per hour multiplied by business services’ share of current dollar costs. 6

Output per unit of combined inputs. 

Over the entire 1987-2006 period, multifactor productivity advanced most rapidly in the 

computer and electronic products industry (see table 3). This industry’s 9.6-percent average annual 

growth rate during this period was 8.0 percentage points higher than the industry with the next highest 

growth rate, apparel, leather, and allied products. In the 1995-2000 period, multifactor productivity 

grew very rapidly in the computer and electronic products industry, 15.9 percent per year. In the 2000-

2006 period, the growth rate slowed to 6.7 percent. Three industries experienced a decline in 

multifactor productivity over the 1987-2006 period: food, beverage, and tobacco products (-0.3 

percent); chemical products (-0.1 percent); and electrical equipment, appliances, and components (-1.0 

percent).
5

Chart 1. Contributors to growth in output per hour 

in the manufacturing sector 1987-2006

0.5 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.6

1.6

1.3

1.9

1.6

1.4

0.2

1.2

2.0

1.6

1.7

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

1987-06 1987-90 1990-95 1995-00 2000-06

Time Period

 Percentage Points

Multifactor

Productivity

Contribution of

Intermediate Inputs

Contribution of

capital intensity

In Chart 1, the contribution of intermediate inputs includes energy, materials, and purchased business services. Multifactor 

productivity plus the contribution of intermediate inputs plus the contribution of capital intensity may not sum to output per 

hour due to independent rounding. 
6

Table C. Previous and revised productivity and related measures for the 2004-2005 and 2003-

2004 periods 

Sector 

Multifactor 

productivity1 

Sectoral 

output

Combined 

inputs2 Hours3 

Capital 

services Energy Materials 

Purchased 

business 

services 

 Percent change, 2004-2005 

Manufacturing

Previous 3.4 3.5 0.1 -1.1 -0.3 -3.3 1.0 1.3 

Revised 0.4 3.7 3.3 -1.1 0.0 9.1 5.9 7.8 

Durable manufacturing

Previous 3.3 5.0 1.6 -0.1 -0.4 -0.2 3.3 4.0 

Revised 2.5 5.2 2.6 -0.1 -0.2 2.8 5.9 4.8 

Nondurable manufacturing

Previous 3.2 1.9 -1.2 -2.7 -0.3 -5.0 -0.3 -1.5 

Revised -1.8 2.0 3.9 -2.8 0.0 12.8 4.9 11.1 

 Percent change, 2003-2004 

Manufacturing

Previous 3.8 1.8 -2.0 -0.5 -0.8 -3.9 -2.5 -3.9 

Revised 2.6 1.7 -0.9 -0.5 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -2.1 

Durable manufacturing

Previous 4.5 2.3 -2.1 0.7 -1.0 -6.6 -2.9 -5.8 

Revised 3.4 2.3 -1.0 0.6 -0.7 -2.5 -1.0 -3.8 

Nondurable manufacturing

1

Sectoral output per unit of combined inputs. 

Previous 2.5 1.2 -1.3 -2.4 -0.7 -2.3 -0.6 -1.8 

Revised 1.5 1.2 -0.3 -2.4 -0.5 0.7 0.9 -0.2 

2

The growth rate of each input is weighted by its share of nominal costs. 

3

Hours at work of all persons. 

Revised Measures 

Previous and revised productivity and related data for 2004 and 2005 for the manufacturing, 

durable manufacturing, and nondurable manufacturing sectors are displayed in Table C. In 2005, 

productivity growth was revised downward to 0.4 percent from 3.4 percent in the manufacturing 

sector, to 2.5 percent from 3.3 percent in the durable manufacturing sector, and to -1.8 percent from 

3.2 percent in the nondurable manufacturing sector. Productivity growth was also revised downward 

for all three major sectors in 2004. This was due to large revisions in energy, materials, and purchased 

services. 
7

In all three sectors the downward revisions to multifactor productivity mainly reflect revisions 

to intermediate inputs (energy, materials, purchased services) due to revisions upward in the 

underlying source data provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Dept. of 

Commerce. This was done to make these measures consistent with the annual revision of its integrated 

annual industry accounts. The industry accounts revisions include revised and newly-available Census 

Bureau data on gross output and the results of the 2007 annual revision of the BEA’s National Income 

and Product Accounts (NIPAs). The NIPA estimates include revised (2004) and newly-available 

(2005) IRS source data (and BEA extrapolations of these data for 2006) for the business income, net 

interest, and depreciation components of industry-level gross operating surplus. 

Summary of methods for the manufacturing sector and manufacturing industries 

The manufacturing multifactor productivity measures describe the relationship between output in 

real terms and the inputs involved in its production. They do not measure the specific contributions of 

labor, capital, or any other factor of production. Rather, multifactor productivity is designed to 

measure the joint influences on economic growth of technological change, efficiency improvements, 

returns to scale, reallocation of resources due to shifts in factor inputs across industries, and other 

factors. The multifactor productivity indexes are derived by dividing an output index by an index of 

the combined input of labor, capital services, energy, non-energy materials, and business service 

inputs. 

The multifactor productivity measures for manufacturing differ in several ways from those for 

private business and private nonfarm business in their treatment of labor input, output, and classes of 

factor inputs. First, the manufacturing measure of labor input is a direct aggregate of hours. This is in 

contrast to the major sector measures for which estimates of the effects of changing labor composition 

have been developed. 

Next, the output concept used for multifactor productivity in manufacturing is “sectoral output.” 

Sectoral output is similar to gross output, but excludes shipments from one establishment to another 

within the same manufacturing industry or sector. In contrast, the output concept used for private 

business and nonfarm business is “gross product originating” and is similar to “real value added”. 

Gross product originating in private business equals gross domestic product in the economy less 

general government, government enterprises, private households (including the rental value of owneroccupied real estate), and non-profit institutions. Gross product originating excludes intermediate 

transactions between businesses. 

The output index for manufacturing is computed 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. Wherever possible, the indexes of industry output are 

calculated with a Tornqvist formula. This 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. 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. 
8

 

The resulting manufacturing multifactor productivity measure compares what is produced in the 

manufacturing sector with the inputs used to produce it. The comparison excludes flows of 

intermediate inputs between manufacturing establishments from measures of both output and inputs. 

However, the comparison does include capital service inputs and capital goods produced, even when 

these goods are produced and consumed in manufacturing. 

Multifactor productivity in manufacturing compares "sectoral output" to three classes of inputs: 

1) hours at work of labor employed within manufacturing; 2) capital services employed by 

manufacturing establishments; and 3) purchases of energy, materials, and business services from 

outside of manufacturing (intermediates). 

Hours paid of production workers are obtained from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) 

survey. The hours of these employees are then converted to an at-work basis by using information 

from the Employment Cost Index (ECI) of the National Compensation Survey (NCS) and the Hours at 

Work Survey. Hours at work for nonproduction workers are derived using data from the Current 

Population Survey (CPS), the CES, and the NCS. The hours at work of proprietors are derived from 

the CPS. Hours at work data reflect Productivity and Costs data as of the March 5, 2008 news release. 

Therefore, it reflects the benchmark revisions to the CES survey and other revisions to hours released 

on February 1, 2008. The construction of hours at work follows the methods used in the private 

business sector described in USDL 08-0410, Multifactor Productivity Trends, 2006, 

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/prod3.pdf, except that hours in manufacturing are directly 

aggregated and do not include the effects of changing labor composition. 

Capital input measures the services derived from the stock of physical assets and software. The 

assets included are fixed business equipment, structures, inventories, and land. Among equipment, 

BLS provides additional detail for information processing equipment and software (IPES). IPES is 

composed of four broad classes of assets: computers and related equipment, software, communications 

equipment, and other IPES equipment. Computers and related equipment includes mainframe 

computers, personal computers, printers, terminals, tape drives, storage devices, and integrated 

systems. Software is comprised of pre-packaged, custom, and own-account software. 

Communications equipment is not further differentiated. “Other IPES" includes medical equipment 

and related instruments, electromedical instruments, nonmedical instruments, photocopying and related 

equipment, and office and accounting machinery. 

The aggregate capital input 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 investments in physical assets and software 

are obtained from BEA. Nonfarm industry detail for land is based on IRS book value data. Currentdollar gross product originating (GPO) data, obtained from BEA, are used in estimating capital rental 

prices. 
9

In manufacturing, intermediates are the largest input in terms of costs. Furthermore, research has 

shown that substitution among inputs, including intermediates, affects productivity change. Therefore, 

it is important to include intermediates in productivity measures at the level of manufacturing. In 

contrast, the more aggregate productivity measures compare "value-added" output with two classes of 

inputs, capital and labor. Because of these differences in methods, productivity change in 

manufacturing cannot be directly compared with changes in private business or private nonfarm 

business. 

Intermediate inputs (energy, materials, and purchased business services) are obtained from 

BEA based on BEA annual input-output tables. Tornqvist indexes of each of these three input classes 

are derived at the 3-digit NAICS level and then aggregated to total manufacturing. As with the 

sectoral output measures, materials inputs are adjusted to exclude transactions between establishments 

within the same sector. 

The five input indexes (capital services, hours, energy, materials, and purchased business 

services) are combined using Tornqvist aggregation, employing weights that represent each 

component's share of total costs. Total costs are defined as the value of manufacturing sectoral output. 

The index uses changing weights: The share in each year is averaged with the preceding year's share. 

Multifactor productivity data incorporate NAICS input-output tables and revised BEA chain-type 

price and quantity indexes for intermediate inputs (energy, materials, and business services). See 

tables at http://www.bea.gov/Industry/Index.htm , Gross Domestic Product by Industry. 

BLS built multifactor productivity measures from three-digit NAICS detail. Most of the critical 

data used to calculate these measures were not reported on a NAICS basis for years prior to 1998. 

Detailed GDP by industry data were available from 1998 forward. But from 1987 to1997, many of the 

income components needed to construct capital rental prices were obtained by applying 1997 SIC-toNAICS conversion factors to SIC data and adjusting to the estimated NAICS totals. A similar 

procedure was applied to manufacturing inventories, energy, materials, and business services. Land 

data were only available from 1998 to 2004 on a NAICS basis. As a consequence, land estimates from 

1987 to 1997 were calculated using a combination of SIC to NAICS conversion factors and more 

detailed IRS data. Data for 2005 and 2006 were extrapolated using detailed IRS data for 2004. 

Comprehensive tables containing additional data beyond the scope of 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. Methods for measuring 

manufacturing multifactor productivity are discussed in "Measurement of productivity growth in U.S. 

manufacturing” in the July 1995 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. See 

http://www.bls.gov/mfp/mprgul95.pdf. More detailed data can be obtained from our web site at 

http://www.bls.gov/mfp or by request at 202-691-5606. 
10

Table 1. Manufacturing sector: Productivity and related measures, 1988-2006 

Percent change from previous year

Productivity Inputs 

Output per Output 

 

 Purchased Combined 

 hour of all per unit Multifactor Sectoral Capital business units of all 

Year persons of capital Productivity1 Output Hours2 Services Energy Materials services Inputs3

1988 2.1 3.4 1.7 5.2 3.0 1.7 4.0 1.4 8.9 3.4 

1989 1.0 -0.6 -0.5 1.6 0.6 2.2 -0.2 1.9 6.0 2.2 

1990 2.2 -3.0 -0.7 -0.3 -2.5 2.8 2.1 1.4 1.8 0.4 

1991 2.6 -4.0 -0.3 -1.7 -4.2 2.4 -0.3 -0.6 -0.7 -1.4 

1992 3.8 0.8 -0.6 3.3 -0.5 2.4 -0.9 8.6 7.1 3.9 

1993 2.5 1.3 2.7 3.9 1.3 2.5 3.2 0.9 0.2 1.2 

1994 3.5 3.1 2.7 6.0 2.4 2.8 3.1 3.9 3.7 3.1 

1995 4.5 1.5 1.8 5.3 0.7 3.7 3.0 5.3 4.9 3.4 

1996 3.6 -0.7 0.5 3.4 -0.2 4.1 -2.9 9.0 -0.4 2.9 

1997 5.5 2.6 2.8 7.4 1.7 4.6 -1.9 8.0 4.1 4.4 

1998 5.4 0.1 2.3 5.2 -0.2 5.0 -2.6 5.2 3.2 2.9 

1999 4.5 -0.3 0.8 3.8 -0.7 4.1 0.1 5.0 5.3 3.0 

2000 4.0 -0.4 3.5 2.7 -1.3 3.1 -5.2 -2.6 0.0 -0.7 

2001 1.6 -6.5 -1.3 -5.1 -6.5 1.5 -9.4 -6.7 0.7 -3.8 

2002 6.9 -1.2 3.7 -0.7 -7.1 0.6 -1.5 -5.3 -2.5 -4.2 

2003 6.2 1.0 2.8 1.0 -4.9 0.0 -5.5 -0.8 0.9 -1.8 

2004 2.3 2.3 2.6 1.7 -0.5 -0.6 -0.5 -0.4 -2.1 -0.9 

2005 4.8 3.7 0.4 3.7 -1.1 0.0 9.1 5.9 7.8 3.3 

2006 1.2 1.3 1.6 1.8 0.6 0.5 -5.5 -1.0 2.0 0.3 

1

Sectoral output per unit of combined inputs. 2

Hours at work of all persons. 3

Combined units of capital services, hours, energy, non-energy materials, and purchased business services, superlative 

chained index. 

Source: Output data are from the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, and modified by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor. Compensation and hours data are from BLS. Capital measures are 

based on data supplied by BEA. See also Summary of Methods in this release. 
11

Table 2. Manufacturing sector: Productivity and related measures, 1987-2006 

Indexes (2000=100) 

Productivity Inputs 

 Output per Output Purchased Combined 

hour of all per unit Multifactor Sectoral 

 

 

 Capital business units of all 

Year persons of capital Productivity1 Output Hours2 Services Energy Materials services Inputs3

1987 64.1 96.4 85.0 64.1 100.0 66.5 99.1 63.2 65.2 75.4 

1988 65.4 99.7 86.4 67.4 103.1 67.6 103.1 64.1 71.0 78.0 

1989 66.1 99.1 86.0 68.5 103.7 69.2 102.9 65.3 75.2 79.7 

1990 67.5 96.1 85.4 68.3 101.1 71.1 105.1 66.2 76.6 80.0 

1991 69.3 92.2 85.1 67.1 96.9 72.8 104.7 65.8 76.0 78.9 

1992 71.9 93.0 84.6 69.3 96.4 74.5 103.7 71.5 81.5 82.0 

1993 73.8 94.3 86.8 72.0 97.7 76.4 107.1 72.1 81.6 83.0 

1994 76.4 97.2 89.2 76.3 100.0 78.5 110.4 74.9 84.7 85.6 

1995 79.8 98.7 90.8 80.3 100.6 81.4 113.7 78.9 88.8 88.5 

1996 82.7 98.0 91.2 83.1 100.4 84.8 110.4 86.0 88.5 91.1 

1997 87.3 100.6 93.8 89.2 102.2 88.7 108.2 92.9 92.1 95.1 

1998 92.0 100.7 95.9 93.8 101.9 93.2 105.4 97.7 95.0 97.8 

1999 96.1 100.4 96.7 97.4 101.3 97.0 105.5 102.6 100.0 100.7 

2000 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

2001 101.6 93.5 98.7 94.9 93.5 101.5 90.6 93.3 100.7 96.2 

2002 108.6 92.3 102.4 94.3 86.8 102.1 89.3 88.4 98.2 92.1 

2003 115.3 93.2 105.2 95.2 82.6 102.1 84.4 87.7 99.1 90.5 

2004 117.9 95.4 108.0 96.9 82.2 101.6 84.0 87.3 97.0 89.7 

2005 123.5 98.9 108.4 100.4 81.3 101.5 91.6 92.4 104.5 92.7 

2006 125.0 100.2 110.1 102.3 81.8 102.0 86.6 91.5 106.6 92.9 

1

Sectoral output per unit of combined inputs. 2

Hours at work of all persons. 3

Combined units of capital services, hours, energy, non-energy materials, and purchased business services, superlative 

chained index. 

Source: Output data are from the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, and modified by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor. Compensation and hours data are from BLS. Capital measures are 

based on data supplied by BEA. See also Summary of Methods in this release. 
12

Table 3. Compound average annual rates of growth in the multifactor productivity measures for manufacturing 

industries in selected periods. 1987-2006 

Average annual percent 

Industry 1987-06 1987-90 1990-95 1995-00 2000-06 2005-06 

Manufacturing 1.4 0.2 1.2 2.0 1.6 1.6 

Nondurable manufacturing 0.2 -0.6 0.7 -0.3 0.6 -0.2 

Food, beverage, and tobacco products -0.3 -1.7 1.5 -1.9 0.3 -0.5 

Textile mills and textile product mills 0.9 1.0 0.7 1.3 0.8 -2.6 

Apparel, leather, and allied products 1.6 0.1 2.8 0.6 2.0 2.1 

 

Paper products 0.3 -0.4 -0.1 0.1 1.1 -1.2 

Printing and related support activities 0.4 0.6 -0.3 0.3 1.1 0.6 

Petroleum and coal products 0.0 -0.1 0.6 0.2 -0.6 0.7 

Chemical products -0.1 -1.0 -0.8 0.0 1.0 0.4 

Plastics and rubber products 0.7 0.7 0.6 1.2 0.4 -1.9 

Durable manufacturing 2.3 0.9 1.6 3.6 2.4 3.2 

Wood products 0.3 1.0 -1.2 0.1 1.2 3.0 

Nonmetallic mineral products 0.5 0.3 1.0 0.8 -0.1 -3.1 

Primary metals 0.7 1.1 0.1 0.5 1.1 -0.5 

Fabricated metal products 0.5 -0.1 1.0 0.1 0.7 1.8 

Machinery 0.0 1.0 -1.7 -0.7 1.7 2.0 

Computer and electronic products 9.6 5.6 9.6 15.9 6.7 7.6 

Electrical equipment, appliances, and components -1.0 -2.2 -2.0 -1.1 0.7 -0.7 

Transportation equipment 0.4 -1.7 -0.3 0.3 2.0 4.0 

Furniture and related products 0.3 -0.8 0.7 0.4 0.3 1.1 

Miscellaneous manufacturing 1.4 2.4 0.3 1.7 1.6 0.7 

Note: Multifactor productivity measures by industry do not sum up to aggregate manufacturing measures because industry 

measures exclude transactions only within the specific industry while the aggregate manufacturing measures also exclude 

transactions between all manufacturing industries.