Skip to Content
U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Energy Intensity Indicators: Industrial Delivered Energy

The industrial sector comprises manufacturing and other non-manufacturing sectors not included in transportation or services. These non-manufacturing sectors are agriculture, forestry and fisheries, mining, and construction. Only the manufacturing sector routinely collects data on energy use, although information on energy costs for the other sectors are available through Census data every five years.

Figure I1, below, shows how industrial sector energy intensity has changed over time. Results based on delivered energy consumption are presented for the period 1985 to 2004.

  • Activity: Industrial sector GDP has increased 64% since 1985.
  • Energy Use: Energy use in 2004 increased by 8% above its 1985 level when electricity losses are ignored, although energy use has declined since 1997.
  • Energy Intensity Index: Energy intensity has declined 20% since 1985, although most of this decline has been since 1993.
  • Changes due to factors unrelated to efficiency improvements: Other explanatory factors have contributed to this decline since 1998, and by 2004 had contributed to about a 17% reduction in energy use relative to 1985.
A chart shows four lines representing GDP in industry, energy use, structure, and intensity for the years 1985 to 2004. An index with 1985 equal to 1.0 is plotted on the vertical axis; years are plotted on the horizontal axis. The top line, GDP in industry, remains at 1.0 in 1986, moved in a slight hump to 1991, rises gradually to 1993, rises in a steeper straight line to 1.6 in 2000, dips a little in 2001, then continues to climb to 1.64 in 2004. The second line from the top, energy use, mirrors closely the GDP in industry line from 1985 to 1993, then diverges from the GDP line staying close to 1.20 between 1993 and 2000, drops to about 1.08 in 2001, and remains at this level through 2004. The third line from the top, structure, remains near 1.0 through 1993, then slowly drops to nearly 0.8 in 2004. The bottom (4th) line, intensity, closely resembles the structure line through 1997, then drops progressively faster than the structure line through 2004, reaching about 0.65 at the end of the period.

Figure I1. Industrial Sector Intensity - Delivered Energy, 1985-2004

The change resulting from other factors, labeled Total Other Explanatory Factors, shown in Figure I1, is a composite of two effects, the change in manufacturing as a fraction of total industrial output over time, and the changes (mostly shifts among industries) that have occurred over time within manufacturing. These components are shown in Figure I2, below. The line labeled Relative Manufacturing Growth indicates that manufacturing, which is more energy intensive than non-manufacturing, has grown slightly compared to total industrial GDP, with most of that change occurring since 1995. This influence has led to a 7.5% increase in energy use, most of it since the recession of the early 1990s. The line labeled Within Manufacturing shows that the manufacturing industries that are less energy intensive have grown relative to those industries that are highly energy intensive, thus reducing the energy intensity of manufacturing as a whole. These shifts have been most dramatic since 1992, when the energy intensity of manufacturing was at about the same level as in 1985. Since then, these shifts have reduced energy use in the industrial sector by about 23%.

A chart shows three lines representing relative manufacturing/non manufacturing growth, within manufacturing shifts, and total structure for the years 1985 to 2004. An index with 1985 equal to 1.0 is plotted on the vertical axis; years are plotted on the horizontal axis. The three lines are almost identical from 1985 through 1992, at or near 1.0, and then diverge. The top line, relative manufacturing/non manufacturing growth, begins rising gradually in 1993, reaching 1.075 in 2004. The second line from the top, total structure, begins dropping in 1993 to reach 0.87 in 2000, remains at this level for the next three years, then drops to about 0.83 for 2003 and 2004. The bottom line, within manufacturing shifts, closely resembles the second line except that it begins dropping in 1993 at a slightly steeper and increasing rate, reaching 0.77 in 2004.

Figure I2. Industrial Structure - Delivered Energy, 1985-2004