Manufacturing refers to the processing of finished products from raw materials using various methods, human labor, and equipment according to a detailed plan in a cost-effective way. Large-scale manufacturing uses core assets, including assembly line processes and sophisticated technologies for the mass production of goods.
Manufacturers take advantage of the economies of scale to enhance efficiency and produce more units at reduced costs. As a value-adding process, manufacturing allows raw materials to undergo a change process to become part of a product and eventually sell at a higher price than the value of raw materials. Information about manufacturing is compiled and disseminated by the Conference Board (CB) and is intensively examined by economists.