2018 Multifactor Productivity Trends for Detailed Industries — 2020-08-27

Multifactor productivity--defined as output per unit of combined inputs--rose in 44 of the 86 manufacturing industries measured in 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was up from 2017, when multifactor productivity increased in 32 manufacturing industries. Multifactor productivity rose in both of the transportation industries measured in 2018, just as in 2017. Of the 12 manufacturing industries with employment of over 325,000, multifactor productivity increased the most in medical equipment and supplies (+5.8 percent), as output increased while combined inputs was unchanged. Output growth occurred in all but 1 of the 12 industries. In the remaining industry, bakeries and tortilla products, combined inputs was flat, leading to a decline in multifactor productivity. In architectural and structural metals, multifactor productivity declined due to growth in combined inputs that outpaced growth in output.