Recent Industry Performance
In recent years, the U.S. manufacturing sector has experienced fluctuations in growth. For instance, shipment value declined by 9.2% in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and then surged by 16.8% in 2021 and 13.8% in 2022 as the economy recovered. During 2023, the value of U.S. manufacturing shipments was flat compared to 2022. According to industry analyst Vertical IQ, much of the slower growth trends resulted from both economic uncertainty and declining backlogs. Notably, the fabricated metal products industry saw a similar pattern and registered growth of just 0.3% in 2023 following two years of strong results. However, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the value of shipments of fabricated metal products grew 2.7% over the first eight months of 2024 (latest available) compared to the same period one year prior.
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