Industrial equipment spans machinery used in manufacturing, mining, construction, transportation, utilities and other business operations. The statistics below define the population, geography and measurement period for each topic, from U.S. capital spending in 2022 to global robot installations in 2024.
Key Industrial Equipment Statistics
These highlights summarize the most broadly useful measures:
- In 2022, U.S. nonfarm businesses invested $2,197.0 billion in new and used structures and equipment.
- In 2022, U.S. employer businesses accounted for $1,899.9 billion, or 86.5%, of nonfarm capital spending.
- From 2021 to 2022, U.S. employer-business spending on new and used structures and equipment rose 12.9%.
- In 2022, new and used equipment spending by U.S. employer businesses totaled $1,176.9 billion.
- In 2022, manufacturing equipment spending by U.S. employer businesses reached $237.8 billion.
- From 2021 to 2022, transportation and warehousing equipment spending increased 35.9% to $78.6 billion in the United States.
- From 2021 to 2022, mining equipment spending increased 38.2% to $27.7 billion in the United States.
- Over 1972–2024, U.S. total-industry capacity utilization averaged 79.6%.
- In March 2025, U.S. total-industry capacity utilization was 77.8%, with March preliminary in the cited release.
- Over 1972–2024, U.S. manufacturing capacity utilization averaged 78.2%.
- In 2023, U.S. manufacturing total factor productivity fell 3.2% while output fell 1.0% and combined inputs rose 2.3%.
- In 2022, U.S. employer businesses invested $12,960 million in robotic equipment, although Census said the difference from 2021 was not statistically significant.
- In 2024, the five largest national industrial-robot markets accounted for 431,240 installations, or 80% of global installations.
- In 2024, China accounted for 54% of global industrial-robot installations.
- In 2018, U.S. manufacturing consumed 19.4 quadrillion Btu of energy.
- From 1998 to 2018, U.S. manufacturing used 26% less energy per goods produced while gross output increased 12%.
- From 2011 through 2017, forklift-related incidents killed 614 U.S. workers.
- In 2017, forklifts were involved in 9,050 U.S. nonfatal workplace injuries with days away from work.
Contents
- U.S. capital spending and equipment investment
- Industrial equipment statistics by sector
- Capacity utilization and manufacturing performance
- Robotics and automation adoption
- Energy use and efficiency
- Safety and material-handling outcomes
U.S. Industrial Equipment Capital Spending Statistics
The Census Bureau’s Annual Capital Expenditures survey covers U.S. nonfarm businesses with and without employees and reports current-dollar spending on new and used structures and equipment. For 2022, the survey estimated $2,197.0 billion in total capital spending, with structures and equipment components subject to rounding.
| Business population | 2022 spending | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Employer businesses | $1,899.9 billion | 86.5% |
| Nonemployer businesses | $297.1 billion | 13.5% |
| All covered nonfarm businesses | $2,197.0 billion | 100% |
Source: Annual Capital Expenditures: 2022.
Among nonfarm employer businesses, spending on new and used structures and equipment rose from $1,682.1 billion in 2021 to $1,899.9 billion in 2022, a 12.9% increase. New structures and new equipment spending rose from $1,578.3 billion to $1,786.4 billion, or 13.2%, while used structures and used equipment spending moved from $103.8 billion to $113.5 billion; the Census release says that latter difference was not statistically significant.
Equipment alone accounted for $1,176.9 billion in 2022, up 12.0% from $1,050.3 billion in 2021. New equipment represented $1,115.0 billion, or 94.7% of equipment spending, while used equipment represented $61.8 billion, or 5.3%, up 12.3% from $55.0 billion in 2021.
Industrial Equipment Statistics by Manufacturing and Business Sector
The 2022 Census industry comparisons below cover U.S. employer businesses. Equipment figures exclude structures where stated, and the comparisons are current-dollar survey estimates.
| Sector or grouping | 2021 equipment spending | 2022 equipment spending | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | $215.5 billion | $237.8 billion | +10.3% |
| Durable-goods manufacturing | $122.5 billion | $139.3 billion | +13.8% |
| Nondurable-goods manufacturing | $93.1 billion | $98.4 billion | +5.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | $57.9 billion | $78.6 billion | +35.9% |
| Mining | $20.1 billion | $27.7 billion | +38.2% |
| Construction | $39.3 billion | $44.9 billion | +14.1% |
| Wholesale trade | $28.6 billion | $34.9 billion | +22.1% |
| Retail | $67.8 billion | $77.1 billion | +13.7% |
Source: Annual Capital Expenditures: 2022.
Manufacturing structures and equipment capital expenditures totaled $314.3 billion in 2022, up 10.6% from $284.2 billion in 2021. Census labels the construction change not statistically significant, so the 14.1% increase should not be treated as a precise underlying shift.
Other covered sectors also recorded notable equipment spending changes:
- Administrative and support plus waste-management businesses spent $30.8 billion in 2022, up 32.3% from $23.3 billion in 2021.
- Accommodation and food-services businesses spent $18.9 billion in 2022, up 25.5% from $15.1 billion in 2021.
- Utilities equipment spending was $92.4 billion in 2022, up 1.7% from $90.9 billion in 2021; Census labels the change not statistically significant.
Industrial Equipment Utilization, Capacity and Manufacturing Performance
Capacity utilization measures realized output relative to estimated sustainable capacity; it is not a count of equipment units. The Federal Reserve series is seasonally adjusted and provides a long historical benchmark.
| U.S. series | Long-period average | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total industry, 1972–2024 | 79.6% | 71.0% in 1982 | 85.2% in 1988–1989 |
| Manufacturing, 1972–2024 | 78.2% | 68.2% in 1982 | 86.5% in 1988–1989 |
| Primary and semifinished manufacturing, 1972–2024 | 80.1% | 63.7% in 2009 | — |
Source: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization – G.17, Table 2 Capacity Utilization.
Total-industry utilization was 66.6% in 2009 and 77.8% in March 2024. It then measured 77.1% in October 2024, 76.8% in November and 77.6% in December; January, February and March 2025 measured 77.6%, 78.2% and 77.8%, respectively, with March preliminary in the cited release.
Manufacturing productivity measures add context but should not be attributed solely to equipment purchases. Manufacturing output per hour, indexed to 2017=100, was 100.687 in 2018 Q2, 99.069 in 2019 Q1 and 95.515 in 2020 Q2; it was 98.875 in 2021 Q1, 100.216 in Q2 and 99.744 in Q3.
The index then measured 98.075 in 2022 Q1, 98.029 in Q2, 96.992 in Q3 and 96.309 in Q4. These are labor-productivity indexes, not direct equipment-utilization measures.
Source: Labor productivity, output, and hours worked indexes, manufacturing.
In 2023, U.S. manufacturing total factor productivity fell 3.2%, while output fell 1.0% and combined inputs rose 2.3%. Durable-goods manufacturing TFP fell 3.8%, with output down 0.4% and combined inputs up 3.5%; nondurable manufacturing TFP fell 2.3%, with output down 1.4% and combined inputs up 0.9%.
Source: Total Factor Productivity for Major Industries News Release – 2023 A01 Results. Combined inputs include capital, labor, energy, materials and services.
Industrial Robotics Statistics and Automation Adoption
Census estimated that U.S. nonfarm employer businesses invested $12,960 million in robotic equipment in 2022, compared with $11,536 million in 2021. The difference was not statistically significant, and the category includes industrial and service robotics.
Robotic equipment represented 1.1% of total equipment expenditures in both 2022 and 2021. This is the Census robotic-equipment category, not a measure of all automation spending.
Source: Capital Expenditures for Robotic Equipment: 2022.
Worldwide installations show how adoption is distributed across national markets. In 2024, the five largest national industrial-robot markets—China, Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea and Germany—accounted for 431,240 installations, or 80% of global installations.
| National market | Share of global installations, 2024 | Reported position |
|---|---|---|
| China | 54% | Largest share |
| Japan | 8% | — |
| United States | 6% | Third national market |
| Republic of Korea | 6% | — |
| Germany | 5% | — |
Source: Executive summary World Robotics 2025 Industrial Robots 15. IFR figures are annual installations, not installed operating stock, and percentages are rounded.
By customer industry, worldwide electrical and electronics installations were 156,920 in 2022, 125,804 in 2023 and 128,899 in 2024. Automotive installations were 136,112, 135,461 and 126,088 in those years, while metal-and-machinery installations rose from 66,115 in 2022 to 76,831 in 2023 and 88,777 in 2024.
Industrial Equipment Energy Use and Efficiency Data
The EIA’s Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey measures U.S. manufacturing establishments. In 2018, manufacturing consumed 19.4 quadrillion Btu, including fuel and nonfuel energy categories as defined by EIA.
Six energy-intensive subsectors—chemicals; petroleum and coal products; paper; primary metals; food; and nonmetallic mineral products—consumed 16.9 quadrillion Btu, or 87% of manufacturing energy in 2018. Manufacturing fuel consumption was 14.9 quadrillion Btu in both 2014 and 2018, about two-thirds of manufacturing energy consumption.
Source: Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS).
Longer-term intensity data show that U.S. manufacturing used 26% less energy per goods produced in 2018 than in 1998, while gross output increased 12%. This comparison describes manufacturing energy intensity and output, not the performance of any single machine.
The EIA page reports preliminary 2022 MECS results showing total U.S. manufacturing energy consumption increased 6% from 2018 to 2022. Because the result is labeled preliminary, later final releases may revise it.
In 2022, the top five manufacturing energy-consuming sectors accounted for about three-fourths of energy expenditures. Manufacturing establishments with the largest value of shipments and receipts accounted for over half of manufacturing energy consumption; “largest” follows the EIA table definitions.
Industrial Equipment Safety and Material-Handling Outcomes
Forklift statistics describe a specific powered-industrial-vehicle risk, not all industrial equipment. OSHA’s directive, citing BLS data, reports that forklift-related incidents killed 614 workers in the United States from 2011 through 2017.
The same OSHA summary states that more than 7,000 nonfatal forklift-related injuries involving days away from work occurred each year over that source period. In 2017, forklifts were involved in 9,050 nonfatal workplace injuries with days away from work.
From 2017 through 2021, Federal OSHA issued 16,975 citations under powered-industrial-truck and related construction-equipment standards, including 11,399 under the cited provisions. Citation counts measure enforcement activity, not injury incidence.
Source: Regional Emphasis Program for Powered Industrial Vehicles.