Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS 336 covers establishments that manufacture motor vehicles, aircraft, ships, railroad rolling stock, and other transportation equipment. This subsector is a pillar of U.S. industrial output, with automotive assembly alone generating over $500 billion in annual production value. The industry is defined by high capital intensity, complex multi-tier supply chains, and continuous investment cycles driven by consumer demand, federal emissions and safety regulations, and the ongoing transition to electric powertrains.

Automotive production centers on Michigan and the broader Great Lakes region, where General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) maintain headquarters and major assembly operations. Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, and Rivian's plant in Normal, Illinois, represent the EV-native entrants reshaping the competitive landscape. Aerospace manufacturing concentrates around Boeing's operations in the Seattle-Everett corridor and Charleston, South Carolina; Lockheed Martin facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and Marietta, Georgia; and Raytheon Technologies operations in Connecticut and Arizona. Shipbuilding clusters at Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News, Virginia, and Pascagoula, Mississippi, yards, which build the Navy's aircraft carriers and destroyers.

Federal regulation is pervasive: NHTSA administers vehicle safety standards, EPA enforces tailpipe emissions rules, and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program sets fleet-wide efficiency targets. The Inflation Reduction Act's $7,500 EV tax credit, with its North American assembly and critical mineral sourcing requirements, is directly influencing where manufacturers locate battery and vehicle production.