For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, January 28, 2020 USDL-20-0136

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 - 2018

Manufacturing sector multifactor productivity declined 1.0 percent in 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics reported today. (See chart 1, table A.) The multifactor productivity decline in 2018 reflected a 0.6-

percent decrease in sectoral output and a 0.3-percent increase in combined inputs. The decrease in multifactor 

productivity followed a revised 0.3-percent increase in 2017. 

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 1.1 percent in 2018. The decline reflected a 

0.4-percent decrease in sectoral output and a 0.7-percent increase in combined inputs. Nondurable 

manufacturing sector multifactor productivity decreased 0.5 percent in 2018. The decline reflected a 1.0-

percent decrease in sectoral output and a 0.5-percent decrease in combined inputs. (See table C, table 3.) 

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

manufacturing sectors, 1987-2018

Annual percent change 

Among the 18 manufacturing industries, 13 experienced declines in multifactor productivity in 2018. The largest 

declines in multifactor productivity were in the primary metal products and transportation equipment industries. 

Printing and related support activities and machinery industries showed the largest gains in multifactor 

productivity. Sectoral output declined in 13 industries; the fourth year in which at least half of manufacturing 

industries reported sectoral output declines. (See chart 2, table 3.) 

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

Manufacturing Durable manufacturing Nondurable manufacturing
- 2 - 

Chart 2. Manufacturing industry trends in multifactor productivity, sectoral output, and combined inputs, 

2018 

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 the manufacturing sector 

multifactor productivity. Transportation equipment made the largest negative contribution to manufacturing 

multifactor productivity. Machinery made the largest positive contribution to manufacturing multifactor 

productivity in 2018, partially offsetting the overall productivity decline. 

Chart 3. Contributions of manufacturing industries to manufacturing sector multifactor productivity, 2018 

-0.40 -0.30 -0.20 -0.10 0.00 0.10 0.20

 Petroleum and Coal Products

 Primary Metals

 Food and Beverage and Tobacco Products

 Wood Products

 Electrical Equipment, Appliances, and Components

 Plastics and Rubber Products

 Paper Products

 Fabricated Metal Products

 Nonmetallic Mineral Products

 Textile Mills and Textile Product Mills

 Apparel and Leather and Applied Products

 Furniture and Related Products

 Miscellaneous Manufacturing

 Printing and Related Support Activities

 Chemical Products

 Computer and Electronic Products

 Machinery

Industry
- 3 - 

Trends in the manufacturing sector 

Manufacturing sectoral output declined in 2018 with an annual decrease of 0.6 percent compared to the 0.6-

percent increase in 2017. Combined inputs increased 0.3 percent, the same increase as 2017. (See table 1.) 

Over the longer term, multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector grew at an average annual rate of 0.9 

percent from 1987 to 2018 with sectoral output increasing at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent, faster than the 

0.5-percent average annual rate of increase in combined inputs. During the same period, labor productivity grew 

at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent. (See table A.) Of the 2.5-percent average annual increase in labor 

productivity, multifactor productivity contributed 0.9 percentage points which represents about 40 percent of the 

growth in the 1987-2018 period. Capital intensity contributed 0.7 percentage points, intermediate inputs intensity 

contributed 0.6 percentage points, and labor composition contributed 0.2 percentage points to the increase in labor 

productivity. (See table B.) 

For the more recent 2007-18 period, multifactor productivity declined at a 0.4-percent average annual rate 

compared to an increase of 1.7 percent during the 2000-07 period. (See table A.) Sectoral output decreased 0.5-

percent (average annual rate) and combined inputs decreased 0.1-percent (average annual rate) over the 2007-18 

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 newly released historical series for energy, materials, and business services from 

the Bureau of Economic Analysis for the 1987-1997 period, and incorporation of the 2017 Economic Census First 

Look data.

Over the 1987-2017 period, multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector was revised up 0.4 percentage 

points to 1.0 percent. The upward revision was due to a 0.4-percentage point downward revision to intermediate 

inputs stemming from the newly incorporated historical detail. The revisions to the longer term reflect mostly 

revisions to the 1987-2000 period and the more recent 2012-2017 period. Revisions over the 1987-2017 period 

resulted in a 0.1-percentage point upward revision to multifactor productivity in nondurable manufacturing (0.0 

percent), with a 0.5-percentage point upward revision to multifactor productivity growth (1.8 percent) in durable 

manufacturing. 

In 2017, multifactor productivity in the manufacturing sector was revised upward 1.7 percentage points to 0.3 

percent. The upward revision was primarily due to a 1.6-percentage point downward revision to combined inputs. 

Multifactor productivity was revised upward 3.5 percentage points in the durable manufacturing sector and 

downward 0.2 percentage point in the nondurable manufacturing sector. Materials were revised downward 8.7

percentage points in manufacturing, 11.2 percentage points in durable manufacturing, and 3.9 percentage points in 

nondurable manufacturing. (See table D.)
- 4 - 

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

2018

Average annual growth

 1987-

2018

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2018

2017-

2018

Productivity

 Multifactor Productivity1 0.9 0.8 1.7 2.2 1.7 -0.4 -1.0

 Labor Productivity2 2.5 1.7 3.2 4.5 4.3 0.2 -2.6

 Output per unit of capital services -0.8 -0.9 0.5 0.2 -0.3 -2.2 -2.1

Sectoral Output 1.5 1.8 3.1 4.4 1.2 -0.5 -0.6

Inputs

 Combined Inputs3 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.1 -0.6 -0.1 0.3

 Labor input4

 -0.4 0.5 0.7 0.5 -2.4 -0.3 1.9

 Hours -1.0 0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -3.1 -0.7 2.0

 Labor composition5 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.4 -0.1

 Capital services 2.3 2.7 2.7 4.3 1.5 1.8 1.5

 Energy -2.1 -0.8 -2.6 10.9 -5.5 -5.4 -3.9

 Materials 0.5 -0.9 3.1 1.5 0.5 -0.7 -0.9

Purchased business services 0.4 3.9 -0.2 2.2 -0.4 -0.7 -2.0

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, 1987-2018

Average annual growth/percentage point

1987-

2018

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2018

2017-

2018

Labor Productivity1 2.5 1.7 3.2 4.5 4.3 0.2 -2.6

 Contribution of capital intensity2 0.7 0.5 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.6 -0.1

 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 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.1

 All other intellectual 

 property products intensity5 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0

 All other capital services 

 Intensity 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.2 -0.2

 Contribution of intermediate 

 inputs intensity6 0.6 0.3 0.7 1.1 1.4 -0.1 -1.5

 Energy intensity7 0.0 0.0 -0.1 0.3 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1

 Materials intensity8 0.4 -0.3 0.8 0.5 1.0 0.0 -0.9

 Purchased business 

 services intensity9 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.4 0.4 0.0 -0.5

 Contribution of labor 

 composition10 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.0

 Multifactor productivity11 0.9 0.8 1.7 2.2 1.7 -0.4 -1.0
- 6 - 

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

sectors, for selected periods, 1987-2018 

Average annual growth

1987-

2018

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2018

2017-

2018

Manufacturing

 Multifactor productivity1  0.9 0.8 1.7 2.2 1.7 -0.4 -1.0

 Labor productivity 2.5 1.7 3.2 4.5 4.3 0.2 -2.6

 Sectoral Output 1.5 1.8 3.1 4.4 1.2 -0.5 -0.6

 Combined Inputs2 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.1 -0.6 -0.1 0.3

 Capital Services 2.3 2.7 2.7 4.3 1.5 1.8 1.5

Labor Input3-0.4 0.5 0.7 0.5 -2.4 -0.3 1.9

Energy -2.1 -0.8 -2.6 10.9 -5.5 -5.4 -3.9

Materials 0.5 -0.9 3.1 1.5 0.5 -0.7 -0.9

Purchased Business

Services

0.4 3.9 -0.2 2.2 -0.4 -0.7 -2.0

Durable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1 1.7 1.5 2.3 3.7 2.5 0.0 -1.1

Labor productivity 2.9 2.0 4.5 5.9 4.5 0.2 -2.7

Sectoral Output 2.0 1.9 4.3 6.7 1.3 -0.6 -0.4

Combined Inputs2 0.3 0.3 1.9 2.8 -1.2 -0.6 0.7

Capital Services 2.2 2.6 2.3 5.4 1.1 1.3 1.4

Labor Input3-0.4 0.3 0.5 1.3 -2.4 -0.4 2.1

Energy -3.3 -2.6 -3.3 10.1 -5.7 -7.6 -4.9

Materials 0.4 -1.3 5.2 2.3 -1.2 -1.2 0.2

Purchased Business 

Services

0.1 1.2 0.7 3.6 0.0 -2.1 -2.6

Nondurable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1  0.0 -0.2 0.6 0.0 0.6 -0.7 -0.5

Labor productivity 1.7 1.3 1.8 2.9 3.7 0.1 -2.5

Sectoral Output 0.7 1.7 1.8 1.4 0.6 -0.4 -1.0

Combined Inputs2 0.7 1.9 1.2 1.4 -0.1 0.3 -0.5

Capital Services 2.4 2.8 3.1 3.1 1.8 2.2 1.7

Labor Input3-0.5 0.8 0.9 -0.8 -2.4 0.0 1.6

Energy -1.1 1.0 -1.8 11.7 -5.4 -3.9 -2.2

Materials 0.5 0.6 1.6 1.1 1.0 -0.5 -2.2

Purchased Business 

Services

0.7 7.3 -1.0 0.7 -1.2 1.0 -1.0

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 1987-2017 

Average annual growth

1987-

2017

1987-

1990

1990-

1995

1995-

2000

2000-

2007

2007-

2017

2015-

2016

2016-

2017

Manufacturing

 Multifactor productivity1  0.4 0.6 0.8 0.4 -0.1 0.3 0.6 1.7

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

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

 Combined Inputs2-0.4 -0.6 -0.7 -0.5 0.0 -0.4 -0.7 -1.6

 Capital Services 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.1

Labor Input3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 -0.1

Energy -0.9 -2.8 -4.2 0.9 0.1 -0.4 -5.9 12.0

Materials -0.9 -1.3 -0.2 -2.3 0.3 -1.3 -2.0 -8.7

Purchased Business

Services

-0.6 -1.5 -3.3 0.9 0.1 -0.3 0.3 9.3

Durable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1 0.5 0.8 1.1 0.7 0.0 0.4 0.1 3.5

Labor productivity 0.0 0.0 0.1 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.4

Sectoral Output 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4

Combined Inputs2-0.5 -0.8 -1.1 -0.9 0.0 -0.4 -0.2 -3.3

Capital Services 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1

Labor Input3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 -0.2

Energy -1.2 -4.0 -4.1 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 1.9 -1.4

Materials -1.2 -2.4 -0.9 -3.0 0.0 -1.1 -1.1 -11.2

Purchased Business 

Services

-0.7 -0.6 -3.0 0.9 0.0 -0.6 0.4 2.8

Nondurable Manufacturing

Multifactor productivity1  0.1 0.2 0.2 0.0 -0.1 0.2 0.9 -0.2

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

Sectoral Output 0.0 0.0 -0.1 0.0 0.0 -0.1 -0.1 0.1

Combined Inputs2-0.2 -0.2 -0.3 0.0 0.0 -0.3 -1.1 0.2

Capital Services 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 -0.1

Labor Input3 0.1 -0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 -0.1

Energy -0.6 -1.6 -4.0 1.8 0.0 -0.2 -9.7 19.9

Materials -0.2 0.0 0.8 -0.5 0.2 -0.8 -1.7 -3.9

Purchased Business 

Services

-0.6 -2.7 -3.5 1.1 0.0 0.1 -0.2 15.5

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 December 10, 

2019 “Productivity and Costs” news release (USDL-19-2143). 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. 

Manufacturing industry output measures for 2017 and earlier years are constructed primarily using data from the 

economic censuses and annual surveys of the U.S. Census Bureau together with data on price changes primarily 

from BLS. These measures have been revised due to new and revised data from the Bureau of Economic 

Analysis, used in part to construct intra-industry transactions. Manufacturing industry output for 2018 is estimated 

based on historical relationships between BLS sectoral output, BLS price indexes, and data on industrial 

production from the Federal Reserve Board. 
- 10 - 

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. 

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 www.bls.gov/mfp/mprdload.htm. Industry specific contributions to 

output are available at www.bls.gov/mfp/contributions-to-output.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 www.bls.gov/mfp/mprtech.pdf. 

General information is available on the BLS Multifactor Productivity website at www.bls.gov/mfp/mprover.htm. 

Additional data not contained in the release can be obtained in print or at www.bls.gov/mfp. A number of 

comprehensive tables set up as zip files can be obtained at 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 www.bls.gov/mfp/mprgul95.pdf. 
- 11 - 

Table 1. Manufacturing sector: productivity and related measures for the 1987-2018 period

Annual percent change from previous 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 4.2 2.5 2.4 0.6 -1.5 6.3 1.9

1989 -0.1 -1.5 0.0 1.2 1.7 2.8 0.2 -2.1 4.3 1.2

1990 3.5 -2.9 0.0 0.0 -2.7 3.0 -3.2 1.1 1.3 0.0

1991 1.9 -4.2 -1.6 -1.8 -2.9 2.6 -5.9 4.2 -3.2 -0.2

1992 5.2 1.6 1.8 4.1 -0.1 2.5 -3.1 5.5 2.7 2.2

1993 2.5 1.3 3.6 3.7 2.1 2.4 -3.4 -1.7 -2.7 0.2

1994 2.9 3.0 1.4 5.6 3.3 2.5 -1.4 9.2 0.5 4.1

1995 3.7 0.8 3.3 4.3 1.2 3.5 0.9 -1.4 1.8 1.0

1996 3.9 -0.3 0.9 3.9 0.6 4.2 -3.1 6.0 0.8 2.9

1997 4.9 2.1 3.9 6.9 2.6 4.7 2.3 -0.3 7.3 2.8

1998 4.5 -0.2 0.9 4.8 0.9 5.0 0.4 6.1 4.8 3.9

1999 5.6 0.1 2.2 4.1 -0.9 4.0 44.7 0.9 1.0 1.9

2000 3.7 -0.8 3.3 2.6 -0.5 3.4 16.7 -4.8 -2.4 -0.7

2001 2.3 -6.6 -1.6 -4.4 -6.0 2.4 16.2 -7.9 1.7 -2.8

2002 8.4 -0.7 2.5 0.8 -6.0 1.5 -33.7 9.6 -5.1 -1.6

2003 6.5 0.4 4.9 1.3 -4.0 0.8 -17.3 -7.5 1.5 -3.5

2004 2.7 1.7 2.7 2.1 0.1 0.4 0.3 5.6 -13.9 -0.6

2005 5.1 2.7 0.7 3.9 -0.7 1.2 18.0 5.1 7.1 3.2

2006 1.0 0.0 2.4 1.6 0.9 1.6 -19.1 -4.1 5.0 -0.8

2007 4.6 0.7 0.6 3.0 -0.8 2.3 10.5 4.3 2.3 2.4

2008 -0.5 -7.5 0.1 -4.6 -2.8 3.2 5.1 -6.8 -16.8 -4.7

2009 1.3 -13.0 -3.6 -11.9 -12.0 1.2 -26.5 -12.7 -2.3 -8.6

2010 6.2 5.5 4.1 6.4 0.9 0.8 -3.2 4.3 3.6 2.2

2011 0.8 1.5 -0.5 2.7 1.9 1.3 9.9 7.4 -3.9 3.2

2012 -0.9 -0.2 -1.6 1.3 2.6 1.5 1.2 3.7 4.4 2.9

2013 1.1 -0.1 -0.1 1.9 0.9 2.1 3.5 3.1 0.2 2.0

2014 -0.4 -1.1 1.1 1.2 1.7 2.2 -8.1 -1.6 -0.6 0.0

2015 -1.8 -2.8 -1.0 -0.9 1.0 2.0 -19.5 2.5 -8.6 0.1

2016 -0.4 -2.1 -2.2 -0.2 0.6 2.0 -8.3 3.0 4.4 2.0

2017 -0.3 -0.9 0.3 0.6 1.0 1.5 -3.4 -7.6 17.9 0.3

2018 -2.6 -2.1 -1.0 -0.6 1.9 1.5 -3.9 -0.9 -2.0 0.3

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. 
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Table 2. Manufacturing sector: indexes of productivity and related measures, 1987-2018 period

Indexes 2012=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 45.1 118.2 72.7 64.8 122.2 54.8 124.3 83.5 98.3 89.1

1988 45.9 120.3 74.4 67.5 125.3 56.1 125.0 82.2 104.5 90.8

1989 45.9 118.5 74.4 68.3 127.4 57.7 125.3 80.5 109.0 91.9

1990 47.5 115.1 74.4 68.3 124.0 59.4 121.2 81.4 110.4 91.9

1991 48.3 110.2 73.2 67.1 120.3 60.9 114.0 84.8 106.9 91.8

1992 50.8 112.0 74.5 69.9 120.2 62.4 110.4 89.5 109.7 93.8

1993 52.1 113.4 77.1 72.5 122.6 63.9 106.6 88.0 106.8 93.9

1994 53.6 116.8 78.2 76.5 126.6 65.5 105.1 96.0 107.3 97.8

1995 55.6 117.8 80.8 79.8 128.1 67.8 106.1 94.7 109.2 98.8

1996 57.8 117.4 81.5 82.9 128.9 70.6 102.8 100.4 110.1 101.7

1997 60.6 119.8 84.7 88.6 132.3 73.9 105.2 100.1 118.1 104.5

1998 63.3 119.6 85.5 92.8 133.4 77.7 105.6 106.2 123.8 108.6

1999 66.9 119.7 87.4 96.7 132.2 80.8 152.8 107.2 125.0 110.6

2000 69.4 118.8 90.3 99.1 131.5 83.5 178.3 102.1 122.0 109.8

2001 71.0 110.9 88.8 94.8 123.6 85.5 207.2 94.0 124.1 106.7

2002 77.0 110.2 91.0 95.6 116.2 86.8 137.4 103.0 117.7 105.0

2003 82.0 110.6 95.5 96.8 111.5 87.5 113.7 95.3 119.5 101.4

2004 84.2 112.6 98.1 98.8 111.6 87.8 114.0 100.6 102.9 100.8

2005 88.5 115.5 98.8 102.7 110.8 88.9 134.6 105.7 110.2 104.0

2006 89.4 115.5 101.1 104.3 111.8 90.3 108.9 101.4 115.8 103.2

2007 93.5 116.3 101.7 107.5 110.9 92.4 120.3 105.7 118.4 105.6

2008 93.1 107.6 101.8 102.5 107.7 95.3 126.4 98.6 98.4 100.7

2009 94.2 93.6 98.1 90.3 94.8 96.5 92.9 86.0 96.2 92.0

2010 100.1 98.8 102.1 96.1 95.6 97.3 89.9 89.7 99.7 94.1

2011 100.9 100.2 101.6 98.7 97.5 98.5 98.8 96.4 95.8 97.1

2012 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

2013 101.1 99.9 99.9 101.9 100.9 102.1 103.5 103.1 100.2 102.0

2014 100.6 98.8 101.0 103.1 102.6 104.3 95.2 101.4 99.5 102.0

2015 98.8 96.0 100.0 102.2 103.7 106.4 76.6 104.0 90.9 102.2

2016 98.4 94.0 97.8 102.0 104.4 108.5 70.2 107.2 94.9 104.3

2017 98.2 93.1 98.1 102.6 105.4 110.2 67.9 99.0 111.8 104.6

2018 95.6 91.1 97.1 101.9 107.5 111.8 65.2 98.1 109.6 104.9

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. 
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Table 3. Multifactor productivity measures for manufacturing industries in selected periods, 1987-2018 

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- 2018 1987-1990 1990-1995 1995- 2000 2000-2007 2007-2018 2017-2018

0.9 0.8 1.7 2.2 1.7 -0.4 -1.0

Nondurable manufacturing 0.0 -0.2 0.6 0.0 0.6 -0.7 -0.5

Food, beverage, and tobacco products -0.2 -0.5 1.0 -1.5 0.7 -0.7 -0.3

Textile mills and textile product mills 0.4 1.3 0.9 1.2 0.5 -0.3 -0.5

Apparel, leather, and allied products -0.2 0.7 -0.2 -0.5 -1.4 0.5 -1.4

Paper products 0.0 -0.8 0.0 0.2 0.8 -0.3 -0.3

Printing and related support activities 0.7 0.2 -0.3 -0.3 2.6 0.6 1.6

Petroleum and coal products 0.5 -0.8 2.2 2.7 -0.1 -0.4 -2.1

Chemical products -0.5 -0.5 -0.4 -0.3 1.0 -1.6 0.5

Plastics and rubber products 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.4 0.5 -0.1 -0.6

Durable manufacturing 1.7 1.5 2.3 3.7 2.5 0.0 -1.1

Wood products -0.2 0.0 -2.3 -1.1 0.9 0.3 -1.8

Nonmetallic mineral products 0.2 0.4 0.8 -0.2 0.1 0.2 -0.2

Primary metals 0.4 -0.4 0.1 1.6 0.6 0.1 -4.1

Fabricated metal products -0.2 -0.5 0.6 -0.2 0.6 -0.9 -0.1

Machinery -0.1 1.5 -1.6 -0.7 1.5 -0.7 1.3

Computer and electronic products 6.2 4.7 8.8 12.5 6.5 2.4 1.2

Electrical equipment, appliances, and 

components

0.1 0.1 -0.1 -0.9 1.5 -0.1 -1.1

Transportation equipment 1.1 0.6 2.4 2.7 1.8 -0.4 -2.4

Furniture and related products -0.1 -0.9 0.4 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 -0.1

Miscellaneous manufacturing 0.8 3.8 -0.7 1.3 1.5 0.0 0.7