Computer & Electronic Product Manufacturing

Computer and electronic product manufacturing (NAICS 334) covers the production of semiconductors, printed circuit boards, computers and peripherals, communications equipment, navigation instruments, and audio/video devices. The subsector is the hardware backbone of the U.S. technology economy, though domestic manufacturing represents only a fraction of global production — the U.S. share of global semiconductor fabrication capacity has fallen from 37% in 1990 to roughly 12% today, a gap the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 is designed to narrow.

Intel, Texas Instruments, Micron Technology, and GlobalFoundries are the principal domestic chip fabricators. Intel is building a $20 billion fab complex in Chandler, Arizona, while Micron is investing over $15 billion in a memory fab in Boise, Idaho. TSMC's new facility in Phoenix and Samsung's expansion in Taylor, Texas represent foreign direct investment spurred by CHIPS Act incentives. Beyond semiconductors, the subsector includes defense electronics manufacturers like Raytheon Technologies (now RTX) and L3Harris, medical device electronics produced in the Minneapolis-St. Paul corridor, and contract electronics manufacturers like Jabil and Flex.

The regulatory landscape includes International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) governing defense and dual-use electronics, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) export controls that restrict advanced chip sales to certain countries, and EPA regulations on electronics manufacturing chemicals and waste. The October 2022 BIS semiconductor export controls targeting China represent the most significant trade restriction affecting this subsector in decades.