ABSTRACT
Processing of foods and beverages into consumable products is an immense business enterprise. In the United States, $561 billion in sales revenue was generated in 2002 ($485 billion in 1997) by this industry (Table 39.1). This makes the food-processing industry comparable in size to the transportation equipment manufacturing industry, representing nearly 14.6% of all manufacturing in the United States (up from 13% in 1997). It is bigger than the entire USA chemical industry or its computer equipment market. Nearly 29,350 establishments utilized a total of 1.7 million employees to create $233 billion in value-added goods. Nearly $2.8 billion of food production machinery was sold to support this market.
