Manufacturing profits fell by $65 billion in second quarter

U.S. manufacturing corporations’ seasonally adjusted after-tax profits fell by $65.7 billion to $47.2 billion in the second quarter, from $113 billion in the first quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau announced Tuesday (Sept. 8) the seasonally adjusted quarterly after-tax profits for manufacturing industries for the second quarter were down from the after-tax profits of $136.3 billion in the same period in 2019.

Seasonally adjusted sales fell by $330.7 billion to $1.31 trillion in the second quarter, from $1.64 trillion in the first quarter, and down by $407.8 billion from $1.72 trillion in the second quarter of 2019.

Nondurable goods manufacturers’ seasonally adjusted after-tax profits fell by $19.4 billion to $22.3 billion in the second quarter, from $41.7 billion in the first quarter, and down $41.8 billion from $64.1 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Seasonally adjusted sales declined $158.1 billion to $635.6 billion in the second quarter, from $793.7 billion in the first quarter and down $200.6 billion from $836.2 billion in the second quarter of 2019.

Durable goods manufacturers’ seasonally adjusted after-tax profits declined $46.3 billion to $25 billion in the second quarter, from $71.3 billion in the first quarter and down $47.2 billion from $72.2 billion in the second quarter of 2019. Seasonally adjusted sales declined $172.6 billion to $677.9 billion in the second quarter, from $850.5 billion in the first quarter and down $207.3 billion from the $885.2 billion in the second quarter of 2019.

U.S. manufacturing corporations’ unadjusted after-tax profits fell $88.7 billion to $53.1 billion in the second quarter, from $141.9 billion in the same period in 2019 and down $53.2 billion from the $106.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Unadjusted sales declined $414.8 billion to $1.33 trillion in the second quarter, from $1.74 trillion in the same period in 2019 and down $250 billion from the $1.58 trillion in the first quarter of 2020.

Nondurable goods manufacturers’ unadjusted after-tax profits declined by $41.6 billion to $24.3 billion in the second quarter, from $65.9 billion in the same period in 2019 and down $19.2 billion from the $43.6 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Unadjusted sales fell $204.3 billion to $647.4 billion in the second quarter, from $851.7 billion in the same period in 2019 and down $119.4 billion to $766.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Durable goods manufacturers’ unadjusted after-tax profits decreased by $47.2 billion to $28.8 billion in the second quarter, from $75.9 billion in the same period in 2019, and down $33.9 billion from the $62.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Unadjusted sales declined by $210.5 billion to $685.3 billion in the second quarter, from $895.8 billion in the same period in 2019 and down $130.6 billion from the $815.9 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Unadjusted after-tax losses for mining corporations with assets of at least $50 million were $44.1 billion in the second quarter, compared to after-tax profits of $6.4 billion in the same period in 2019 and up from losses of $76.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Unadjusted sales declined by $37.5 billion to $39.8 billion in the second quarter, from $77.3 billion in the same period in 2019 and down $25.3 billion from the $65.1 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Unadjusted after-tax profits for wholesale trade corporations with assets of at least $50 million declined $6.3 billion to $8.4 billion in the second quarter, from $14.8 billion in the same period in 2019 but up $3.6 billion from the $4.8 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Unadjusted sales fell $89.3 billion to $617.1 billion in the second quarter, from $706.4 billion in the same period in 2019 and down $60.4 billion from the $677.5 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Unadjusted after-tax profits for information corporations with assets of at least $50 million fell by $26.1 billion to $35.2 billion in the second quarter, from $61.3 billion in the same period in 2019 but up $1.8 billion from the $33.4 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Unadjusted sales decreased $22.1 billion to $316.4 billion in the second quarter, from $338.5 billion in the same period in 2019 and down $16.9 billion from the $333.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020.

After-tax losses for professional and technical services corporations (except legal services) with assets of at least $50 million were $2 billion in the second quarter, compared to the after-tax profits of $4 billion in the same period in 2019 but up from the after-tax losses of $8.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Unadjusted sales were nearly flat at $157.6 billion in the second quarter, from $154.6 billion in the same period in 2019 and up $1.9 billion from the $155.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020.