Screw machine products make up a key portion of the precision machining industry.
The applications for screw machine products are vast, with these items used in appliances, computers, firefighting equipment, airbags and more.
Depending on the manufacturer, screw machine products can be made from stainless steel, aluminum, steel, plastic or bronze.
Take a closer look at the size and distribution of the industry to have a better idea of how it fits into precision machining as a whole.
Job changes over the year
The screw machine products industry encompasses 744 companies and employs 14,019 U.S. workers. One year ago, there were 14,027 jobs, indicating a decrease of 0.06 percent.
Although there was a reduction, this is not a very large figure, particularly considering the sales change for the industry mentioned below.
It is worth noting that of companies reporting relevant data, 4 percent, or 27 of them, indicated an increase in employment, while 4 percent (or 32) showed a decrease.
Related: U.S. precision machining gains momentum
To get a better mental image of jobs in screw machine products, consider that 22 or 3 percent are women-owned, and nine, or 1 percent, are minority-owned.
Of the total number of screw machine product companies, 79 (11 percent) import raw materials, 107 (14 percent) focus on domestic distribution, 27 (4 percent) focus on international distribution, 99 percent are private, and 1 percent are public.
Average sales for the industry
The average sales within screw machine products are currently $1.65 billion. By comparison, precision machining, as a whole, has current sales of $25.70 billion. As such, screw machine products currently account for 6.42 percent of precision machining sales.
Sales change for the industry
Sales in the industry of screw machine products have grown dramatically in the past year. While the current average sales are $1.65 billion, this figure was just $1.51 billion the previous year. This represents an increase of 9.36 percent.
That increase is impressive, but it is only slightly above the growth for all precision machining sales, which is 8.29 percent. It is perhaps more notable that sales have increased dramatically in the past year while jobs declined slightly.
Regional data
It is also interesting to look at the regional distribution of the screw machine products industry. The majority of companies are in the Midwest, with 399 companies or 54 percent in that region.
This is followed by the Northeast with 187 or 25.13 percent of the plants, the South with 80 or 11 percent of companies, and the West with 78 or 10.48 percent.
These figures are particularly interesting when compared to all manufacturers within the United States.
Overall, the Midwest, Northeast, South and West accounted for 29.45 percent, 18.43 percent, 32.74 percent, and 19.38 percent of manufacturing, respectively.
As such, screw machine products have a much higher concentration of companies in both the Midwest and Northeast than manufacturing as a whole.
This corresponds to a much lower concentration in the South and West compared to overall United States manufacturing.
Conclusion
With those figures in mind, it is easier to see the significance of screw machine products within precision machining. This industry experienced extraordinarily strong sales growth within the past year, and if that continues, screw machine products certainly play a key role in precision machining. Click here to see a listing of all screw machine suppliers in the U.S. on IndustryNet.
