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Manufacturing Salaries - 2004
By Dr. Steven Langer

The composite highest-income practitioner reported in this field (salary plus cash bonus and/or cash profit-sharing) is the President "B" of a manufacturing firm (defined as a chief executive officer who has little or no financial interest in the firm). The firm manufactures automotive parts/accessories, food/beverage/tobacco products, chemical & allied products, or machinery & heavy equipment; has 1,000 or more employees; has a total annual revenue of $100,000,000 or more; and is headquartered in or near Denver/Colorado Springs, Houston, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Modesto/Stockton, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Indianapolis, Boston, New York City, or Dayton, or outside a metropolitan area studied in Idaho. However, while the median President "B' has a total annual income of $214,966, the highest-income individuals reported are Presidents "A" (having a financial interest in the firm) and make well over $30,000,000.

Far toward the other end of the income spectrum, Assemblers "D" have a median income of $20,418. Sometimes earning under $14,600, the lowest-paid employees in this group are employed by firms that manufacture building materials; have $1 million to $4.99 million in total annual revenue; have 5,000 to 9,999 employees; and are located in or near Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, Dallas/Ft. Worth, or Charlotte, or outside the metropolitan areas studied in Texas, North Carolina, or Florida.

These composites represent the briefest possible "boil-down" of the voluminous data provided regarding current salaries and cash bonuses and/or profit sharing, and numerous demographic variables provided by 343 firms on over 54,000 managerial, supervisory, sales, engineering, technical, clerical, and blue-collar employees in 187 benchmark jobs which resulted in the eight-volume survey report, Compensation in Manufacturing, 24th Edition - 2004, sponsored by the National Association of Manufacturers.

Copies of the entire eight-volume report are available for $1,250.00 from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc., Dept. ART, 548 First St., Crete, IL 60417 (telephone 708/672-4200; fax 708/672-4674; www.abbott-langer.com) Also available is Compensation in Smaller Manufacturing Firms (under 250 employees) for $595.00. Each volume of both reports may be purchased separately. Also available is findpay-MFG04 (a computer program which permits the user to determine pay levels of each survey job on the basis of two or more variables simultaneously).

It would be an exercise in futility to attempt more than a superficial overview of the survey results in this summary. However, some overall data regarding compensation can be presented herein. In addition to the incomes of the benchmark jobs already discussed, the median total cash compensation nationally of some of the other jobs included in the survey report is:

Chief Legal Officers - $181,200
Vice Presidents of Manufacturing/Production - $135,375
Chief Marketing & Sales Executives - $133,835

Chief Corporate Financial Officers - $130,066
Vice Presidents of Manufacturing/Production Engineering - $112,274
Research & Development Managers - $90,377
Engineering Department Managers/Superintendents - $89,232
Chief Human Resources Executives - $80,849
Plant Managers/Superintendents - $78,595
Product/Brand Managers - $75,789
Design Managers - $74,347
Facilities Managers - $68,198
Cost Accounting Managers - $67,161
Sales Engineers - $67,000
Manufacturing Engineers - $66,477
Production Managers/Superintendents - $65,730
Quality Assurance/Control Managers - $64,890
Computer Programmers - $61,963
Purchasing Managers - $61,805
Warehouse Managers - $54,000
General Production Supervisors - $49,781
General Accountants - $48,725
Product Designers - $45,000
Maintenance Leaders/Working Supervisors - $40,833
Drafters, Senior - $43,795
Buyers, Junior - $40,256
Secretaries to the Chief Executive Officer - $40,125
Machine Repairers, Maintenance - $39,192
Production Schedulers - $38,195
Automatic Screw Machine Operators - Multiple Spindle - $37,252
Maintenance Workers, General - $36,420
Chemical Production/Mixing Machine Operators - $35,686
Carpenters, Maintenance - $34,211
Quality Assurance/Control Technicians - $33,329
Inspectors "A" - $32,739
Secretaries - $32,500
Milling Machine Operators - $32,261
Payroll Clerks - $31,775
Numerically Controlled Machine Operators - $31,750
Customer Service Representatives - $29,787
Injection Molding Machine Set-up and Operators - $28,200
Senior Account Clerks - $27,913
Machine Set-Up Workers - $27,809
Material Handlers - $27,705
Lathe Operators, Engine or Turret - $27,690
Painters, Production - $27,619
Machinists, Production - $26,661
Junior Account Clerks - $26,449
Fork Lift Operators - $26,052
Shipping Clerks - $25,317
Finishers - $25,044
Janitors - $24,376
Receptionists - $23,795
Injection Molding Machine Operators - $23,443
Warehouse Laborers - $23,109
Drill Press Operators, Single - $21,320

The income relationships reported above may be distorted slightly, since some of these benchmark jobs were reported more frequently in organizations of one size, while other benchmark jobs were reported more frequently by larger or smaller organizations. This may also be true for product manufactured, geographic location, and supervisory/managerial responsibility. This possible defect is corrected in the complete survey report by reporting income for each benchmark job overall and with "break-outs" by each demographic variable.

Type of Product

Overall, administrative, fiscal, and information technology employees are paid best by manufacturers of communications equipment, medical/engineering/scientific equipment, stone/clay/concrete/glass products, and aerospace & aircraft products, and worst in firms producing building materials, heating/air conditioning/refrigeration products, chemical & allied products, and apparel & textile mill products.

Employees in the sales/marketing group enjoy the highest income in firms that produce chemical & allied products, paper & allied products, circuit board products, and measuring & controlling devices. Income is lowest among producers of building materials, apparel & textile mill products, rubber & plastic products, and heating/air conditioning/refrigeration products.

Clerical personnel are paid best by firms that manufacture aerospace & aircraft products, stone/clay/concrete/glass products, and chemical & allied products. They have the lowest median incomes in firms that produce heating/air conditioning/refrigeration products, circuit boards, and building materials.

Engineering/technical employees have the highest median incomes among manufacturers of aerospace & aircraft products, communications equipment, apparel & textile mill products, and medical/engineering/scientific equipment. The lowest median income is reported among manufacturers of circuit board products, building materials, and primary ferrous metals.

Maintenance/material acquisition personnel are best paid by firms that manufacture aerospace & aircraft products, stone/clay/concrete/glass products, and chemical & allied products. This group of employees are worst paid by manufacturers of apparel & textile mill products, building materials, furniture & wood products, and heating/air conditioning/refrigeration products.

Managerial and supervisory personnel in plant/manufacturing/production functions receive the highest median incomes when employed by firms producing stone/clay/concrete/glass products, measuring & controlling devices, and food/beverage products, and the lowest median incomes when employed by companies producing primary ferrous metals, computer & allied products, and furniture & wood products.

Quality assurance/control, regulatory affairs, and documentation employees are paid best by producers of measuring & controlling devices, aerospace & aircraft products, and primary ferrous metals. They are paid least by manufacturers of apparel & other textile products, rubber/plastic products, medical/engineering/scientific equipment, and circuit board products.

Production employees in firms of 250 employees or more fare best among producers of chemical & allied products, paper & allied products, fabricated metal products, and measuring & controlling devices, and worst among manufacturers of furniture & wood products, apparel & textile mill products, and building materials. Production employees in firms of under 250 employees fare best in firms which product stone/clay/concrete/glass products, machinery & heavy equipment, chemicals & allied products, and fabricated metal products, and worst among manufacturers of apparel & textile mill products, circuit board products, and communications equipment.

Level of Managerial/Supervisory Responsibility

This factor is an excellent predictor of overall income in the manufacturing field. In larger firms, median income increases from $54,060 for those supervising under five professionals to $83,916 for those who direct the activities of 100 or more non-professionals, and from $72,992 for those supervising under five professionals to $95,813 for those who direct the activities of 50 to 249 professionals. Median income increases further (to $245,650) for those who direct the activities of 250 or more professionals and non-professionals.

In smaller firms, median income increases from $48,505 for those supervising under five non-professionals to $90,000 for those who direct the activities of 100 or more non-professional employees, and from $75,401 for those supervising under five professionals to $91,617 for those who direct the activities of 50 to 249 professionals. Median income increases further (to $170,000) for those who direct the activities of 100 to 249 professionals and non-professionals.

Size of Organization and Geographic Location

Median income for job families and individual jobs varies significantly by size of organization and location. While the compensation data were analyzed by size of organization and region, state, and metropolitan area, the data are too voluminous to allow for succinct commentary herein and must be left to the complete report.

AUTHOR BIO: Dr. Steven Langer is a Licensed Psychologist with 35 years of experience in business, industry, government, academe, and consulting. As a Visiting Professor of Management at Loyola University of Chicago and Community Professor of Behavioral Sciences at Purdue University, he has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, teaching such subjects as statistics, wage & salary administration, human resources management, personnel selection, and industrial/organizational psychology.

Dr. Langer is President of Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc., consultants in human resources management and industrial/organizational psychology and publishers in the human resources field.

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