In July 2023, manufacturers’ sales in the United States stood at $577.18 billion, a slight 0.5% increase from the previous month and a 0.7% decrease from the same period in 2022. That’s according to the “Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales” estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The estimates are based on three Census Bureau surveys: “Monthly Retail Trade,” “Monthly Wholesale Trade,” and “Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders.” The surveys provide “the only source for assessing overall business activities across retail trade, wholesale trade, and manufacturing.”
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Separately, the Census Bureau conducts the “Business Trends and Outlook Survey” every two weeks. The purpose is to “assess the current state of the U.S. economy, providing timely economic data and capturing the expectations of business owners and managers.”
That survey queries approximately 1.2 million companies and collects info on a range of variables, such as current performance, revenue changes, employment, working hours, and more. The manufacturing sector “comprises establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products.”
As of August 27, 2023, 19.7% of surveyed manufacturing businesses considered their current performance above average. Only 8.9% characterized their performance as excellent.
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Roughly 46% of manufacturing-business respondents reported no change as of August 27 in operating revenue, while 16.8% indicated an increase.
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A hefty 79.5% of surveyed manufacturers reported no change in the time it takes to receive supplier deliveries in August 2023.
