Of the 41 states that house manufacturers on the IW 500 list, the concentration is typical: The eastern half of the U.S. boasts the lion's share of top manufacturers with 355 or 71%. The biggest concentration of those manufacturers (46%) dwell near the Great Lakes, another observation that elicits a "duh" response. So are there any surprises in this year's list?
Not really. As has been the case the last few years, California -- with 68 companies -- dominates the U.S. in terms of number of manufacturing giants. Texas comes in second with 47 top manufacturers calling the Lone Star State home. And the Great Lakes states, Illinois (36), Michigan (24), Ohio (32) Pennsylvania (30) and New York (42), continue to enjoy an abundance of manufacturing activity.
In terms of revenue by state, Texas can still boast that they make 'em big. With $751.1 billion in revenue, the 47 manufacturers in Texas outshine the 68 Californian companies that posted $530.7 billion in revenue in 2004. Exxon Mobil, at No. 1 on the list with $293.1 billion worth of Texas Tea, is certainly the major contributor with nearly 40% of the total revenue for Texas. The total revenue for all 500 companies: $4.4 trillion, which is up more than $400 billion from last year.
| Check out the 500 largest public manufacturing companies -- based on 2004 revenues -- in the United States via this searchable database. View the entire list alphabetically or sort the list by several categories including industry, state, ranking, and financial performance measures. |
There are 56 chemical companies that posted revenues of $319.3 billion. Companies such as Ohio-based Procter & Gamble Co. (No. 14 with $51.4 billion in revenue -- 19% growth from last year), Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co. (No. 19 with $40.2 billion in revenue -- 23% growth from last year) and Minnesota-based 3M Co. (No. 43 with $20 billion in revenue -- 10% growth) aided the chemical industry dominance.
For computers and electronics, 51 companies fall into the category and posted $476 billion in revenue. New York-based IBM Corp. (No. 7 with $96.3 billion in revenue -- 8% growth from last year), California-based Hewlett-Packard Co. (No. 9 with $79.9 billion in revenue -- 9% growth from last year) and Texas-based Dell Inc. (No. 16 with $49.2 billion in revenue -- up 19% from last year) topped the industry.
| Read the methodology used to choose the IW U.S. 500. |
To fill the No. 1 position, the petroleum and coal products industry, with 41 companies represented, pulled in $904.2 billion in revenue. In addition to Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. (No. 1 on the list with $293.1 billion in revenue-up 21% from last year), California-based Chevron Corp. (No. 4) and Texas-based ConocoPhilips (No. 6) pulled in $152.7 billion and $135.4 billion in revenues respectively, and posted revenue growth of 26% and 29%.
The industries least represented in the list include metals with two companies: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (No. 230) and Steel Dynamics Inc. (No. 302), which contributed $5.1 billion in revenue; rubber products also had two companies on the list: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (No. 51) and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (No. 306).
In the leather products industry, Coach Inc. (No. 422) was the only company. Posting $1.3 billion in revenue -- 39% growth from last year -- it goes to show the power of trendy and pricey fashion.
Read the methodology used to choose the IW U.S. 500.
