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December 1982, Vol. 105, No.
12
Productivity in the
pump and compressor industry
Horst Brand and Clyde Huffstutler
Output per employee hour in pump and compressor manufacturing rose at an average rate of 2.1 percent between 1958 and 1980—compared with a rate of 2.6 percent for manufacturing as a whole.1 Output increased 4.7 percent a year, employee hours 2.6 percent. Among the sources of the industry's long-term productivity advance were improvements in metalworking machinery, which lies at the core of the production processes for pumps and compressors, and computer technologies, which were increasingly applied to engineering design.
The labor productivity trend for the industry was marked by strong advances during the early part of the period (from 1958 to 1965), followed by deceleration during 1965-73, and a further slowing thereafter. As the tabulation shows, using average annual rates of change in percent, the trend pattern paralleled manufacturing:
| Pumps and compressors | Manufacturing | |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | 2.1 | 2.6 |
| 1958-65 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| 1965-73 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
| 1973-80 | 1.0 | 1.8 |
By 1980, the level of labor productivity in the industry had risen 55 percent from 1958, as against 78 percent for all manufacturing.
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1 The pump and compressor manufacturing industry consists of two segments, pumps and pumping equipment, designated as SIC 3561 of the Standard Industrial Classification Manual 1972 of the Office of Management and Budget; and air and gas compressors, SIC 3563. SIC 3561 consists of establishment primarily engaged in manufacturing pumps and pumping equipment for general industrial use. Measuring and dispensing pumps for gasoline stations are not included, nor are pumps installed in automobiles. SIC 3563 consists of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing air and gas compressors for general industrial use. Refrigeration compressor units are not included. Prior to 1972, pumps and compressors were classified together in SIC 3561.
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