U.S. 500 Companies Withdrawal: Major Brands such as Apple, Nike, and Hasbro, Alongside 68 Other Companies Manufacturing Their Own Products, Removed from Producer Directory
The much-anticipated IndustryWeek U.S. 500 list for 2023 is here, offering an exclusive ranking of America's largest public manufacturing companies based on their U.S.-based revenue. However, due to updated criteria, the detailed list of companies included is only accessible to IndustryWeek members, and not publicly available in search results.
This year's IndustryWeek U.S. 500 focuses on revenue to rank the top public manufacturers in the U.S. Some notable companies that have appeared in recent rankings or profiles include GE Vernova, a clean-energy company specializing in wind and gas turbines, with a reported $35 billion in revenue in 2024, and Steel Dynamics, a steel and aluminum producer with $17.5 billion revenue in 2024.
While the Fortune 500 list includes large revenue companies in the U.S., it is not specific to manufacturing nor does it reflect the new IndustryWeek U.S. 500 criteria.
The U.S. 500 list recognizes the largest publicly traded manufacturing companies in the country. In the technology sector, 32% of the 71 companies rejected from the 2023 U.S. 500 list are computer, semiconductor, or other high-tech companies.
A growing sector on the U.S. 500 list is electronic manufacturing services, manufacturers who produce outsourced goods for companies like Cisco, Sonos, Vizio, and others that were eliminated from the rankings.
In the apparel industry, 17 companies that outsource production make up 23.9% of the rejected list. The apparel industry was one of the first major industrial sectors to leave the U.S. Only four companies, including Hanesbrands Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Columbia Sportswear Co., and Kontoor Brands Inc., have any in-house production remaining.
The manufacturer is defined as a person or company that makes a physical product representing value-added activity. In recent years, outsourcing production to specialty companies has picked up steam, particularly following 2002.
In the semiconductor world, companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices have no fabrication plants, unlike Micron, Intel, and Broadcom, which are doubling down on U.S. manufacturing.
The 2023 U.S. 500 list has undergone a painstaking process, with 71 companies with a combined $887 billion in sales being eliminated from the rankings. Apple, the No. 1 company on the U.S. 500 list in 2022 and 2021, was eliminated this year due to its financial performance. Had only Apple been eliminated, the 2023 list would still have been radically different.
In the manufacturing sector, it's important to measure the strength and impact of U.S.-based companies. To do this, the criteria and methodology for the 2023 U.S. 500 list have been changed to specifically measure U.S.-based manufacturing.
Companies like Toy giant Hasbro and Nike, for example, outsource the production of their products to contract manufacturers. Hasbro notes that it uses two facilities, one in the U.S. and one in Ireland, that it previously owned but are now managed by Cartamundi, a Belgian games manufacturer. Nike states that "Virtually all of our footwear and apparel products are manufactured outside the United States by independent manufacturers with whom we contract and refer to as 'contract manufacturers'."
In summary, while the IndustryWeek U.S. 500 list for 2023 is not fully disclosed in the public domain, it offers valuable insights into the state of U.S.-based manufacturing. Some large U.S manufacturing companies like GE Vernova and Steel Dynamics are part of recent top manufacturing rankings based on revenue. More details would require access to IndustryWeek membership content or direct IndustryWeek publications.
References: 1. IndustryWeek 2. Fortune 500 3. GE Vernova 4. Steel Dynamics
- The technology sector has a significant representation among the 71 companies excluded from the 2023 IndustryWeek U.S. 500 list, which focuses on manufacturing.
- Electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies, including Cisco, Sonos, Vizio, and others, are showing growth in the U.S. 500 list, with many entering the rankings while outsourced production companies were eliminated.
