Gross Domestic Product By Industry: First Quarter 2014

July 25, 2014

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014 after increasing 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.  Both private services and goods-producing industries contributed to the decrease, while the government sector increased slightly.  Durable-goods manufacturing; wholesale trade; and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting were the leading contributors to the decrease in GDP.  Overall, 16 of 22 industry groups contributed to the 2.9 percent decrease in U.S. economic activity.

• Durable-goods manufacturing real value added – a measure of an industry’s contribution to GDP – decreased 8.4 percent after an increase of 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.
• Wholesale trade decreased 8.7 percent after an increase of 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
• Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting decreased 31 percent after a decrease of 7.0 percent in the fourth quarter.

The downturn in the first quarter of 2014 was widespread.  Overall, 19 out of 22 industry groups contributed to the 5.5 percentage points downturn in real GDP; the leading contributors to the downturn were wholesale trade; professional, scientific, and technical services; and durable-goods manufacturing.

Other highlights:

• Growth in real value added slowed for nondurable-goods manufacturing in the first quarter, however, the industry group contributed the largest positive offset to the decrease in real GDP in the first quarter.  Nondurable-goods manufacturing, which includes petroleum and coal product manufacturing, increased 15.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014, after an increase of 18.6 percent in the fourth quarter.
• Professional, scientific, and technical services turned down in the first quarter, decreasing 6.5 percent after increasing 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter.  Professional, scientific, and technical services includes industries such as legal services, engineering, and administrative management and management consulting services.
• Federal government turned up 3.2 percent in the first quarter – its first increase since the second quarter of 2011.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis