Manufacturing Economy Monitor

Primary Metals Manufacturing in Kentucky

Primary Metals manufacturing added $3.0B of value to Kentucky's economy in 2024, down 0.5% year over year. That ranks Kentucky 8th of 51 states and DC for this industry. It is 6% of Kentucky's manufacturing output. Nationally, primary metals is a $77.7B industry (the 12th-largest of the 19 manufacturing subsectors), per the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Output and rank

  • Value added: $3.0B in 2024, #8 of 51 states and DC for this industry.
  • Growth: -0.5% year over year.
  • Share of Kentucky's manufacturing: 6% of the state's total manufacturing value added.
  • National context: primary metals is a $77.7B industry nationally, #12 of the 19 manufacturing subsectors (+1.6% year over year).
  • Classification: durable goods manufacturing (BEA subsector 331).

Frequently asked questions

  • How big is the primary metals industry in Kentucky? Primary Metals added $3.0B of value in Kentucky in 2024, ranking the state 8th of 51 for this industry, per BEA state GDP-by-industry data.
  • Is primary metals growing in Kentucky? Kentucky's primary metals output shrank 0.5% year over year to 2024. The chart above traces the full annual series since 1997.
  • What share of Kentucky's manufacturing is primary metals? Primary Metals is 6% of Kentucky's total manufacturing value added in 2024, 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 2026-05-12.