Biomanufacturing is playing an important role in a strong U.S. economy, according to a recent report.
What it is: Industrial biomanufacturing includes the transformation of renewable biomass into materials like fertilizers, bioplastics and biofuels, among other substances—as well as the research and development of other materials and technologies used in modern biomanufacturing.
The numbers: According to the report, released by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, titled “The Economic Impact of the U.S. Industrial Bioeconomy,” the U.S. industrial bioeconomy supported nearly 644,000 domestic jobs, contributed $210 billion to the U.S. gross national product and drove $49 billion in wages last year.
The map: Biomanufacturing also has a strong input in states across the country. The report lists the top five states for economic output in biomanufacturing: Illinois, Iowa, California, Nebraska and Minnesota.
- While the biomanufacturing industry showed strength in those states, it also had a particularly significant impact on direct and total employment for Georgia and Ohio.
The home advantage: The biomanufacturing industry provides particular benefits to the U.S. economy because it creates domestic jobs that cannot be moved overseas.
- “A considerable competitive and policy advantage of these industrial bioeconomy jobs is their tie to U.S. soil, both literally and figuratively,” according to the report. “[T]hese jobs are here and stay in the U.S.”
The multiplier effect: In addition to creating jobs directly in the United States, the biomanufacturing industry also supports a robust U.S. supply chain—generating more jobs in more industries.
- “Relative to other industrial sectors, the extended domestic supply chain of the U.S. industrial bioeconomy generates outsized secondary economic benefits,” the report states. “This is especially true of domestic employment, where each direct job supports 11.08 additional indirect and induced jobs.”
