--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/stylized-facts-of-the-united-states-manufacturing-productivity-slowdown/" title: "The Stylized Facts of the United States Manufacturing Productivity Slowdown" author: name: "shomp" url: "https://csls.ca/author/shomp/" date_published: "2025-11-30T10:00:00+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-16T15:33:30+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "The sector that once led U.S. productivity growth is now holding it back." post_tag: - "computer electronics" - "growth accounting" - "labour productivity" - "manufacturing" - "productivity slowdown" - "total factor productivity" - "United States" country_focus: - "Canada" - "United States" province_region: - "National" research_category: - "Productivity" research_theme: - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" - "Sector/Industry Analysis" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/research-ai.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Stylized Facts of the United States Manufacturing Productivity Slowdown Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/stylized-facts-of-the-united-states-manufacturing-productivity-slowdown/ # The Stylized Facts of the United States Manufacturing Productivity Slowdown [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2025-06.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Chittoor, Ritisha, Paul Pietraru, and Andrew Sharpe. 2025. “The Stylized Facts of the United States Manufacturing Productivity Slowdown.” CSLS Research Report 2025-06. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/stylized-facts-of-the-united-states-manufacturing-productivity-slowdown/ ## Authors: - Ritisha Chittoor Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Paul Pietraru Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2025-06 November 2025 84 pages ## Related research [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Productivity Trends: A Canada-U.S. Comparison Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) January 1999 | Report 1999-01 | 6 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-a-canada-u-s-comparison/) [New Estimates of Manufacturing Productivity Growth for Canada and the United States Andrew Sharpe March 1999 | Report 1999-02 | 21 pages](https://csls.ca/research/new-estimates-of-manufacturing-productivity-growth-for-canada-and-the-united-states/) [Productivity Trends in the Construction Sector: A Case of Lagging Technical Progress Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) November 2001 | Report 2001-03 | 177 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-in-the-construction-sector-a-case-of-lagging-technical-progress/) [Productivity Trends in Natural Resources Industries in Canada Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2003 | Report 2003-01a | 69 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-trends-in-natural-resources-industries-in-canada/) [Productivity in the Forest Products Sector: A Review of the Literature Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2003 | Report 2003-02 | 28 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-in-the-forest-products-sector-a-review-of-the-literature/) [An Analysis of Productivity Trends in the Forest Products Sector in Canada Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) February 2003 | Report 2003-01b | 64 pages](https://csls.ca/research/an-analysis-of-productivity-trends-in-the-forest-products-sector-in-canada/) [Why Are Americans More Productive Than Canadians? Andrew Sharpe June 2003 | Report 2003-03 | 83 pages](https://csls.ca/research/why-are-americans-more-productive-than-canadians/) [Productivity Growth and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) September 2003 | Report 2003-06 | 70 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-growth-and-poverty-reduction-in-developing-countries/) [The Canada-Atlantic Canada Manufacturing Productivity Gap: A Detailed Analysis Andrew Sharpe December 2003 | Report 2003-08 | 127 pages](https://csls.ca/research/the-canada-atlantic-canada-manufacturing-productivity-gap-a-detailed-analysis/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This report investigates recent trends in productivity growth within the U.S. manufacturing sector, highlighting a significant and persistent slowdown. By evaluating compound annual growth rates, we found that growth in manufacturing fell from 3.75 per cent over 1997-2011 to -0.51 per cent over 2011-2023, the largest slowdown of any two-digit NAICS sector. Using two- and three-digit NAICS data, this report first situates manufacturing within the broader private business sector and then aims to identify the specific industries contributing most to the sector’s underperformance. The manufacturing productivity growth slowdown was broad-based, but a few industries accounted for most of the aggregate decline. Comparative analysis with peer economies highlights that the U.S. manufacturing productivity slowdown has been particularly severe by international standards. Given manufacturing’s historical importance as a driver of productivity growth, its considerable scale, and its extensive inter-industry linkages, this slowdown has had broad implications for the wider private business sector. This report explores several potential explanations, including diminishing returns to technological innovation, structural shifts across industries, reduced R&D effectiveness, and the persistent effects of the Great Recession. It also considers broader constraints such as offshoring, stagnating capital intensity, and challenges related to productivity measurement. Ce rapport examine les tendances récentes de la croissance de la productivité dans le secteur manufacturier américain, en mettant en évidence un ralentissement important et persistant. En évaluant les taux de croissance annuels composés, nous constatons que la croissance dans le secteur manufacturier est passée de 3,75 % entre 1997 et 2011 à -0,51 % entre 2011 et 2023, soit le ralentissement le plus marqué de tous les secteurs à deux chiffres du SCIAN. À l’aide de données à deux et trois chiffres du SCIAN, ce rapport situe d’abord le secteur manufacturier au sein du secteur des entreprises au sens large, puis cherche à cerner les industries qui contribuent le plus à la sous-performance du secteur. Le ralentissement de la croissance de la productivité manufacturière a été généralisé, mais quelques industries expliquent l’essentiel du déclin global. Une analyse comparative avec des économies similaires révèle que le ralentissement de la productivité manufacturière américaine a été particulièrement sévère selon les normes internationales. Étant donné l’importance historique du secteur manufacturier comme moteur de la croissance de la productivité, son ampleur considérable et ses vastes liens interindustriels, ce ralentissement a eu de larges répercussions sur l’ensemble du secteur des entreprises. Ce rapport explore plusieurs explications potentielles, notamment les rendements décroissants de l’innovation technologique, les changements structurels entre industries, la diminution de l’efficacité de la R-D et les effets persistants de la Grande Récession. Il examine également des contraintes plus larges telles que la délocalisation, la stagnation de l’intensité capitalistique et les difficultés liées à la mesure de la productivité. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2025-06.pdf)