Refining Success: Oil Companies Top the IW 1000

Black gold continues in the driver's seat of the IW 1000.

For the second consecutive year, London-based Royal Dutch Shell PLC (IW 1000/1) has snagged the lead spot on IndustryWeek's annual list of the world's top manufacturing companies ranked by revenue.

Shell, after six progressive years of losing out to Exxon Mobil Corp. (IW 1000/2), maneuvered its way to the front of the pack on last year's list and refused this year to be passed by its Texas-based competitor.

The oil behemoth raked in $482 billion in revenue in 2012, edging out Exxon, which generated $467 billion, by 3%.

Yet, despite its global dominance, Shell's revenues were 0.58% lower than the previous year and Exxon followed suit, recording a 0.82% drop in revenue in 2012.

The oil and coal industry, however, as a whole dominated the IW 1000, securing eight of the top 10 spots on the list and experiencing an average revenue growth of 11%.

The 133 companies in the sector generated $6.6 trillion in revenue, or 31% of the revenue of the world's top 1,000 companies.

Overall, IW 1000 companies made $21 trillion in 2012, a 5% increase from the previous year, when companies generated $20 trillion in revenue.

Industries on the Move

The strongest sectors in terms of revenue growth were machinery, apparel and furniture, which experienced gains of 15%, 17% and 30%, respectively.

In the global machinery market, Caterpillar Inc. (IW 1000/62) led the pack. The Illinois-based machinery manufacturer topped $65.9 billion in revenue, an improvement of 10% from the previous year.

Caterpillar soared on all fronts, recording a 15% growth in profits and a 9% profit margin.

The 57 machining companies on the list generated $675 billion in 2012.

For the world's apparel companies, France's Christian Dior SA (IW 1000/142) eked out the top spot, recording revenue of $32.4 billion. The luxury goods producer saw its revenues climb 17%, while its profits rose 5%.

In fact, Christian Dior's revenues were 35% higher than the next-closest apparel maker on the list -- Nike Inc. (IW 1000/190).

On the furniture front, Steinhoff International Holdings Ltd. (IW 1000/461), based in South Africa, showed the most promise.

Find the complete 2013 IW 1000 ranking at www.iw.com/IW-1000, as well as comprehensive coverage and analysis of the IW 1000 data.

The furniture maker generated $9.6 billion in revenue in 2012, realizing an 85% growth in revenue from the year before. And thanks to that success, Steinhoff managed to climb 252 spots on the 2013 IW 1000.