Each year, IndustryWeek releases the IW U.S. 500 – an annual list showcasing the top revenue-producing manufacturers in the U.S.
The comprehensive list includes all kinds of financial information, from revenue to profit to inventory turnover.
Here’s how it all works:
IndustryWeek partnered with Mergent Inc. to create the 2013 IW U.S. 500 ranking of the largest publicly held manufacturing companies headquartered in the United States.
Mergent, which in 1998 acquired the Financial Services Division of Moody’s Investors Service, uses its global databases to identify all publicly held manufacturing companies meeting IW’s selection criteria. The revenue cutoff for inclusion on this year’s IW U.S. 500 list was $1.1 billion.
Mergent collected the financial data elements directly from reports distributed by the corporations.
The criteria:
- Manufacturing companies with a majority of their business in a manufacturing industry.
- Companies that generated less than 50% of revenues from manufacturing, but more revenue from manufacturing than the lowest-revenue-producing companies on this year’s list.
- Oil and gas companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from the refining of oil and gas products.
- Companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from the manufacture of mined materials.
While the list, in its entirety is available on the IW website, IW goes one step further. The IW U.S. 500 also has its own home on the IW site, which features creative breakdowns of the data and offers another level of insight into the list.
