How big is plastics and rubber products manufacturing in the U.S.?

Plastics and Rubber Products manufacturing produced $101B of value added in 2025, or 3.5% of all U.S. manufacturing output and 0.3% of total GDP, per BEA GDP-by-industry data. It ranks 10 of 19 manufacturing subsectors by size.

Is plastics and rubber products manufacturing growing or shrinking?

In the latest annual data (2025), plastics and rubber products value added is down 0.1% year over year in dollar terms. The full quarterly series since 2005 is charted above and updates with each BEA release.

Which states produce the most plastics and rubber products?

Illinois leads with $6.9B of plastics and rubber products GDP in 2024, followed by California ($6.9B) and Texas ($6.9B), per BEA state GDP data.

Is plastics and rubber products a durable or nondurable goods industry?

BEA classes plastics and rubber products manufacturing as nondurable goods. Nondurable goods (food, chemicals, plastics, fuel, paper) are products generally consumed within three years.

Manufacturing Economy Monitor

Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing

Plastics and Rubber Products manufacturing produced $101B of value added in 2025. That is 3.5% of all U.S. manufacturing output and 0.3% of GDP, making it the 10th-largest of the 19 manufacturing subsectors the Bureau of Economic Analysis tracks. Output shrank 0.1% year over year. It is classed as nondurable goods manufacturing; the largest producing state is Illinois ($6.9B in 2024).

Output and growth

Value added: $101B in 2025, 3.5% of all U.S. manufacturing and 0.3% of GDP.
Year-over-year change: -0.1% in dollar terms.
Classification: nondurable goods manufacturing (BEA subsector 326).

Top producing states

Illinois: $6.9B (2024)
California: $6.9B (2024)
Texas: $6.9B (2024)

Frequently asked questions

How big is plastics and rubber products manufacturing in the U.S.? Plastics and Rubber Products manufacturing produced $101B of value added in 2025, or 3.5% of all U.S. manufacturing output and 0.3% of total GDP, per BEA GDP-by-industry data. It ranks 10 of 19 manufacturing subsectors by size.
Is plastics and rubber products manufacturing growing or shrinking? In the latest annual data (2025), plastics and rubber products value added is down 0.1% year over year in dollar terms. The full quarterly series since 2005 is charted above and updates with each BEA release.
Which states produce the most plastics and rubber products? Illinois leads with $6.9B of plastics and rubber products GDP in 2024, followed by California ($6.9B) and Texas ($6.9B), per BEA state GDP data.
Is plastics and rubber products a durable or nondurable goods industry? BEA classes plastics and rubber products manufacturing as nondurable goods. Nondurable goods (food, chemicals, plastics, fuel, paper) are products generally consumed within three years.

About this data

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (public domain). National quarterly values are seasonally adjusted annual rates. Corporate-profit industry detail reflects inventory valuation adjustment without capital consumption adjustment, per NIPA table 6.16D conventions.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.