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Economic Profile and Trends Value of Shipments | Annual Production | Labor Productivity As a strong contributor to the U.S. economy, the chemical industry provides 2% of the total U.S. GDP and nearly 12% of the manufacturing GDP. On a value-added basis, chemicals is the largest U.S. manufacturing sector. The industry employed nearly 900,000 people in 2001, including nearly 85,000 scientists, engineers, and technicians engaged in R&D. Over half of the industry employees are production workers earning weekly wages that are 25% greater than the manufacturing average. [ACC 2002] The United States is the largest chemical producer in the world (over 27% of total production) and achieved a record trade surplus in 1995 of $20.4 billion. The industry continues to grow, with after-tax profits in 2001 reaching $44.6 billion, an all time high. [ACC 2002] The chemical industry is one of the largest U.S. private sector investors in R&D, with chemical patents accounting for 26% of the total awarded in the United States. Pharmaceuticals research accounts for more than half of R&D spending. [ACC 2002] NAICS 325 – 2001
Source: DOC 1994, DOC 2000, ITA 2001, ACC 2002 Value of ShipmentsChemical shipments are increasing steadily Annual Production About 1.2 billion tons of chemicals are produced every year Labor Productivity The labor productivity of chemical workers increased by 2% annually over the last decade Page last modified on
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