USDA ERS - Food and Beverage Manufacturing (2024)

USDA ERS - Food and Beverage Manufacturing (1)

Food and beverage manufacturing plants transform raw food commodities into products for intermediate or final consumption by applying labor, machinery, energy, and scientific knowledge. Some products may serve as inputs for further processing, such as syrup for manufacturing soda. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census’s Annual Survey of Manufactures, these plants accounted for 16.8 percent of sales and 15.4 percent of all employees from all U.S. manufacturing plants in 2021. Because intermediate inputs (primarily food commodities) account for a relatively large share of food and beverage manufacturers' costs, value added in food and beverage manufacturing represents a slightly smaller share (15.0 percent) of value added in all manufacturing.

Meat processing is the largest industry group in food and beverage manufacturing based on sales, value added, and employment. Meat processing includes livestock and poultry slaughter, processing, and rendering. It is the largest industry group in food and beverage manufacturing, with 26.2 percent of sales in 2021. Other important industry groups by sales include dairy (12.8 percent), other foods (12.4 percent), beverages (11.3 percent), and grain and oilseeds (10.4 percent).

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Meat processing (22.2 percent) and other food (15.4 percent) are the largest industry groups in the food sector's total value added.

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Food and beverage processing establishments (plants) employed 1.7 million workers in 2021 (about 15.4 percent of all U.S. manufacturing employment and just over 1.1 percent of all U.S. nonfarm employment). The meat processing industry employed the largest percentage of food and beverage manufacturing workers in 2021 (30.6 percent), followed by bakeries and tortilla producers (14.7 percent).

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There are many food and beverage processing plants in the United States—41,080 in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census's County Business Patterns. Food and beverage processing plants are located throughout the United States. California had the most food and beverage manufacturing plants (6,301), whereas Texas (2,782) and New York (2,662) were also leading food and beverage manufacturing States. The number of processing plants for various industry segments are also reported in County Business Patterns.

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USDA ERS - Food and Beverage Manufacturing (2024)

FAQs

What does USDA ERS stand for? ›

The Economic Research Service (ERS) was established in 1961 from components of the former Bureau of Agricultural Economics principally under the authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 - 1627).

What is the USDA ERS definition of food security? ›

Food security includes at a minimum: The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods. Assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).

How big is the food and beverage industry in the US? ›

The food and beverage industry is one of the largest industries in the US. Packaged food and drink was estimated to be worth over US$1 trillion in 2022. A diverse population and openness to new products makes the US one of the most exciting markets for food and drink brands.

What state has the greatest number of food and beverage manufacturing employees? ›

Thursday, June 21, 2018. In 2016, there were 35,457 food and beverage processing plants located throughout the United States, employing more than 1.5 million people. California had the most food and beverage processing plants (5,639), followed by New York (2,578) and Texas (2,252).

What are the four priorities of the USDA? ›

USDA Priorities

Advancing Racial Justice, Equity, Opportunity and Rural Prosperity. Creating More and Better Market Opportunities. Tackling Food and Nutrition Insecurity.

What does "ers" mean? ›

Evaluated receipts settlement (ERS) is a procurement and payment method where payments to suppliers are based on the receipt and evaluation of goods or services rather than on traditional invoices, streamlining the accounts payable process and reducing paperwork.

What are the five categories of the USDA? ›

As the MyPlate icon shows, the five food groups are Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy.

What is the USDA food score? ›

The scores range from 0 to 100. An ideal overall HEI score of 100 reflects that the set of foods aligns with key dietary recommendations and dietary patterns published in the Dietary Guidelines.

What are the three levels of food security? ›

when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food security has four interrelated elements: availability, access, utilisation and stability.

What is the top food and beverage company in the US? ›

The five largest food and beverage companies in the U.S. and Canada remain PepsiCo., Tyson Foods, JBS USA, Nestle and Kraft Heinz. That's according to our annual reporting of the top food & beverage companies in North America. For an alphabetic list of all the companies, click here.

What are the three parts of the food and beverage industry? ›

The Food and Beverage Industry includes all the companies involved in transforming raw agricultural goods into consumer food products. The overall industry supply chain includes food processing, packaging, and distribution.

What is the largest privately held food and beverage company in the US? ›

Agriculture giant Cargill, the largest private company in America, remains way ahead of its peers with more than three times the sales of runner-up Mars. Food distributors dominate the rest of the Top Ten. Cargill dwarfs its public competition.

What is the best state for food manufacturing? ›

California is a food manufacturing powerhouse. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, the Golden State has the highest number of food manufacturing plants in the nation—nearly 5,650.

What is the number 1 manufacturing state? ›

Home to manufacturing sites for industry giants like Bay Center Foods, the state's diverse economy encompasses aerospace, biotechnology, electronics, and automotive sectors, among others. In addition, California is also the nation's largest manufacturing exporter, with an output of approximately $324 billion annually.

What does ERS stand for in agriculture? ›

The Economic Research Service (ERS) provides the Department of Agriculture and the public economic information and research on food, agriculture, the environment and rural development.

What does ERS stand for in real estate? ›

4 years ago. by Kevin Coulston. Written by Kevin Coulston. This is a listing agreement that gives the agent the full right to sell a particular property for a designated period.

What is the ERS farm income forecast? ›

Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, is forecast at $116.1 billion in calendar year 2024, a decrease of $39.8 billion (25.5 percent) relative to 2023 in nominal (not adjusted for inflation) dollars. This follows a forecast decrease of $29.7 billion (16.0 percent) from 2022 to $155.9 billion in 2023.

What do the letters in USDA stand for? ›

U.S.C.: United States Code. USDA: United States Department of Agriculture.

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