Manufacturing Economy Monitor
Primary Metals Manufacturing in Iowa
Primary Metals manufacturing added $1.6B of value to Iowa's economy in 2025, down 1.5% year over year. That ranks Iowa 15th of 50 states and DC for this industry. It is 3.6% of Iowa's manufacturing output. Nationally, primary metals is a $77.8B industry (the 13th-largest of the 19 manufacturing subsectors), per the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Output and rank
- Value added: $1.6B in 2025, #15 of 50 states and DC for this industry.
- Growth: -1.5% year over year.
- Share of Iowa's manufacturing: 3.6% of the state's total manufacturing value added.
- National context: primary metals is a $77.8B industry nationally, #13 of the 19 manufacturing subsectors (-1% year over year).
- Classification: durable goods manufacturing (BEA subsector 331).
Frequently asked questions
- How big is the primary metals industry in Iowa? Primary Metals added $1.6B of value in Iowa in 2025, ranking the state 15th of 50 states and DC for this industry, per BEA state GDP-by-industry data.
- Is primary metals growing in Iowa? Iowa's primary metals output shrank 1.5% year over year to 2025. The chart above traces the full annual series since 1997.
- What share of Iowa's manufacturing is primary metals? Primary Metals is 3.6% of Iowa's total manufacturing value added in 2025, per BEA state GDP-by-industry data.
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 2026-10-01.