Total Factor Productivity for Detailed Industries - 2022

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, August 28, 2025 					   USDL-25-1325

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		TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY FOR DETAILED INDUSTRIES - 2022


Total factor productivity--defined as output per unit of combined inputs--fell in 66 of the 86 4-digit 
NAICS manufacturing industries in 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Among 
durable manufacturing industries, 38 of 51 had total factor productivity declines led by an 11.9-percent 
decline in the HVAC and commercial refrigeration equipment industry. Total factor productivity 
declined in 28 of 35 nondurable manufacturing industries led by a 15.9-percent decline in paints, 
coatings, and adhesives.

Four of the ten largest 4-digit NAICS manufacturing industries (those with employment over 350,000 
workers) experienced increasing total factor productivity in 2022: animal slaughtering and processing 
(+9.3 percent), aerospace products and parts (+4.6 percent), motor vehicle parts (+3.8 percent), and 
semiconductors and electronic components (+1.3 percent). Output rose in 6 of these 10 industries led by 
a 9.4-percent increase in motor vehicle parts. Combined inputs (capital, hours worked, materials, energy, 
and purchased services) declined in two of these industries: animal slaughtering and processing (-3.2 
percent) and aerospace products and parts (-0.6 percent). (See table 1.)

Six of the 20 industries with rising total factor productivity in 2022 had increases of more than 7.0 
percent:

• Glass and glass products (+13.1 percent)
• Leather and hide tanning and finishing (+10.2 percent)
• Apparel knitting mills (+9.4 percent)
• Animal slaughtering and processing (+9.3 percent)
• Communications equipment (+8.3 percent)
• Resin, rubber, and artificial fibers (+7.7 percent)

Eight industries posted total factor productivity declines of more than 10.0 percent:

• Paints, coatings, and adhesives (-15.9 percent)
• Agricultural chemicals (-14.8 percent)
• HVAC and commercial refrigeration equipment (-11.9 percent)
• Spring and wire products (-11.8 percent)
• Pharmaceuticals and medicines (-11.0 percent)
• Electrical equipment (-10.7 percent)
• Boilers, tanks, and shipping containers (-10.7 percent)
• Iron and steel mills and ferroalloys (-10.6 percent)

Total Factor Productivity: Definition and Concepts

Changes in total factor productivity show the relationship between changes in real output and the 
combined inputs used to produce that output. These combined inputs include hours worked, capital, and 
intermediate inputs (energy, materials, and purchased services).

Measures of total factor productivity capture a variety of factors that influence economic growth that are 
not specifically accounted for among measured inputs, including technological change, returns to scale, 
enhancements in managerial and staff skills, changes in the organization of production, and other 
efficiency improvements. Total factor productivity reflects these factors. See the technical note for more 
information.

Components of Total Factor Productivity Growth: Output and Combined Inputs

Output increased in 42 of 86 manufacturing industries in 2022, compared to 65 industries in 2021. 
Among the industries that posted gains, output increased by 15.0 percent or more in the following seven 
industries in 2022:

• Other electrical equipment and components (+24.6 percent)
• Apparel knitting mills (+22.7 percent) 
• Railroad rolling stock (+20.5 percent)
• Steel products from purchased steel (+19.0 percent)
• Communications equipment (+18.2 percent)
• Motor vehicles (+17.3 percent)
• Glass and glass products (+15.1 percent)

Combined inputs of capital, labor, and intermediate inputs rose in 60 of 86 manufacturing industries in 
2022, compared to 24 in 2021. Seventy-two industries saw increases in hours worked. Intermediate 
inputs grew in 57 industries. Capital also increased in 41 of the industries reported.

Of the industries with rising combined inputs in 2022, six had gains of more than 11.0 percent:

• Steel products from purchased steel (+22.4 percent)
• Other electrical equipment and components (+16.6 percent)
• Railroad rolling stock (+13.9 percent)
• Accessories and other apparel (+12.8 percent)
• Apparel knitting mills (+12.2 percent) 
• Motor vehicles (+11.3 percent)

Trends in Total Factor Productivity for Selected Time Periods

Both year-to-year movements and long-term trends in industry total factor productivity may reflect 
cyclical changes in the economy. This was particularly true in 2022 due to economic volatility induced 
by the COVID-19 pandemic. While long-term annual percent changes in total factor productivity are 
affected by economic conditions such as the pandemic, these historical trends are nevertheless more 
reliable indicators of industry performance. 

More industries saw total factor productivity growth over the long term than the short term, a reversal 
from 2021. Over the long-term period from 1987 to 2022, total factor productivity grew in 63 out of 86 
manufacturing industries, compared to 20 from 2021 to 2022. (See tables 1 and 2.) Annual rates of 
change in total factor productivity for all but four manufacturing industries ranged between -2.0 percent 
and +2.0 percent per year over the long term. In contrast, total factor productivity decreased by 2.0 
percent or more in 52 industries in 2022. 

Although the distribution of total factor productivity growth for all the manufacturing industries may 
change significantly annually, 55 out of 86 industries are clustered between an increase of 0.1 percent 
and 1.0 percent in the long run. 

Between 1987 and 2022, the number of manufacturing industries with growth in total factor productivity 
was highest in 1992, 2003, 2010, and 2021. These were years of economic growth following recessions. 
In contrast, relatively few manufacturing industries saw total factor productivity growth in the recession 
years of 1991, 2001, 2009, and 2020.

Annual percent changes in total factor productivity by industry for periods between 1987 and 2022 are 
provided in table 3. Seventy manufacturing industries had total factor productivity growth from 2000 to 
2007, the most of any period. The 1990 to 2000 period recorded the highest number of industries with 
growth in output (76) and combined inputs (70).

Total Factor Productivity as a Source of Labor Productivity Growth

Total factor productivity measures differ from the BLS labor productivity measures because they 
compare output to the combined inputs of hours worked, capital, and intermediate inputs. Labor 
productivity relates output only to hours worked. Mathematically, an industry's labor productivity is 
equal to total factor productivity plus the effects of factor substitutions, also known as the contributions 
of capital intensity and of intermediate inputs intensity. The contribution of capital intensity to labor 
productivity refers to the change that is directly attributed to the use of capital relative to labor hours. 
Similarly, the contribution of intermediate inputs intensity refers to the change that is directly attributed 
to the use of purchased inputs relative to labor hours. 

Seventy-nine of the 86 manufacturing industries posted gains in labor productivity from 1987 to 2022. 
Among these industries, substitution of intermediate inputs for labor was the leading source of labor 
productivity growth. (See table 4.) Growth in the contribution of intermediate inputs intensity occurs 
when firms purchase a greater share of materials instead of using their own labor. Contribution of 
intermediate inputs intensity may also rise when firms substitute contracted labor for payroll labor. 

For the majority of industries with labor productivity growth between 1987 and 2000, the contribution of 
intermediate inputs intensity was the greatest source of such growth. During the three successive time 
periods (2000-2007, 2007-2019, and 2019-2022), fewer industries experienced labor productivity 
growth that was primarily caused by contribution of intermediate inputs intensity. Total factor 
productivity's influence receded from 2007 to 2019, but this trend has since reversed. From 2019 to 
2022, the majority of manufacturing industries owed labor productivity gains to total factor productivity. 

There were 12 manufacturing industries with labor productivity growth of at least 2.0 percent per year 
from 1987 to 2022. Of these 12 industries, total factor productivity was the dominant source of labor 
productivity growth in 8, including 4 industries that manufacture computers and electronic products 
(computer and peripheral equipment, semiconductors and electronic components, communications 
equipment, and audio and video equipment). Uniquely, the tobacco industry's labor productivity growth 
was fueled by the contribution of capital intensity.

Additional Information

Measures of output and combined inputs for this release incorporate data from the 2022 Economic 
Census (Geographic area statistics) which were released in December 2024. In years without an 
Economic Census, total factor productivity measures for detailed manufacturing industries are based on 
data from annual economic surveys produced by the U.S. Census Bureau. These annual surveys are 
generally published approximately 1 year after the end of the calendar year being measured. Because of 
the longer publication schedule of the Economic Census, the 2022 total factor productivity data for 
detailed industries is being published with a 1-year lag behind BLS's standard publication schedule. 

Durable manufacturing industries are those which produce durable goods. These are defined as tangible 
products that can be stored or inventoried and that have an average life of at least 3 years, including 
vehicles, appliances, and computers. Durable goods manufacturing industries are classified by the North 
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) under the codes beginning with 321, 327, 331, 332, 
333, 334, 335, 336, 337, and 339.

Nondurable manufacturing industries are those which produce nondurable goods. These are defined as 
tangible products that can be stored or inventoried and that have an average life of less than 3 years, 
including food products, chemicals, and apparel. Nondurable goods manufacturing industries are 
classified by NAICS under the codes beginning with 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 322, 323, 324, 325, 
and 326. 

Access https://www.bls.gov/productivity/tables/total-factor-productivity-manufacturing-and-
transportation-detailed-industries.xlsx for: 

• Additional industries and sectors, including air transportation and line-haul railroads
• Detailed data series: indexes of total factor productivity and related measures; rates of change; 
and levels of industry employment, hours worked, sectoral output, and labor compensation

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