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Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US - Market Research Report (2014-2029)

Alex Petridis Alex Petridis New York, United States Last Updated: October 2024 NAICS 33422

Revenue

$28.7bn

2024

$28.7bn

Past 5-Year Growth

Profit

$X.Xbn

Employees

52,948

Businesses

551

Wages

$X.Xbn

Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry analysis

Communication equipment manufacturers have endured multiple challenges and have struggled to maintain profit levels. This trend is mainly driven by high research and development (R&D) costs and falling equipment prices driven by elevated price competition. Since the industry is diverse, specific product segments may perform better than others, and large companies with contracts in place will be less affected than smaller manufacturers. The need for work-from-home equipment boosted demand for manufacturers, although falling input and product prices resulted in contracting revenue. The pandemic and other supply chain disruptions have greatly hindered the industry, and the volatility in the cost of semiconductors, along with investor uncertainty, has posed immense challenges for manufacturers. As a result, revenue has been falling at an estimated CAGR of 2.4% to $28.7 billion by the end of 2024, including a 3.2% drop in 2024 alone.
The decades-long trend of offshoring manufacturing capabilities harms domestic manufacturers, as they cannot compete with the lower prices because of labor and environmental regulations. Many companies have moved operations to Asian countries, particularly China and Vietnam; these countries contribute over 50.0% of total imports. Rising overhead costs have pushed domestic manufacturers to continue offshoring manufacturing activities, resulting in declining enterprise numbers and workforces. However, restrictions imposed on imports from China for national security reasons incentivize some mid-size manufacturers to return to national production.
Manufacturing revenue is expected to slow down over the upcoming years, resulting from declining TV and radio subscriptions. Widespread adoption of 5G technologies will boost communication equipment sales, as the new network will support new products and improve performance. Despite this, import penetration will still remain high overall, although they will wane, motivated by international scrutiny and a reversing trade-weighted index. Domestic manufacturers are poised to entirely shift toward high-end or niche products to differentiate from low-cost imports, propelling the export market toward growth. Overall, communication equipment manufacturing revenue is slated to recover, growing at an estimated CAGR of 1.5% to $30.8 billion in 2029.

Trends and Insights

  • Imports force domestic manufacturers to produce high-end products. The inability to compete with low-priced imports forced manufacturers to change their pricing strategy. With rising input prices, many manufacturers are offshoring operations and focusing on high-end products to remain competitive.
  • Cord-cutting trends and subscription services threaten markets. These replace traditional radio and TV broadcasts and require significantly less equipment distribution.
  • Proximity to trade routes benefits manufacturers engaging in imports and exports. Companies in the West have easy access to Asian imports, while Mid-Atlantic and Southeast manufacturers have access to export markets.
  • Imports of communication equipment are strong and unlikely to face significant losses. Most manufacturers have fully or partially offshored operations to lower production costs.

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Industry Statistics and Trends

Market size and recent performance (2014-2029)

Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 2.4 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $28.7bn in 2024.

Trends and Insights

Macroeconomic conditions influence demand

  • During the 2020 pandemic, many companies were pushed to offer work-from-home accommodations to avoid spreading the virus. Many workers were required to work from home and build a home office setup, igniting demand for communication equipment. The remote-work trend has persisted following the peak of the pandemic.
  • Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US
Revenue (2014-2029)
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry outlook (2024-2029)

Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.

Trends and Insights

Improving macroeconomic conditions help mitigate losses

  • Economic conditions are poised to improve over the coming years as the Federal Reserve continues efforts to reduce inflation and boost consumer confidence. Improving economic conditions will boost the construction sector, with gains mainly concentrated in the nonresidential sector. In turn, this recovery will stimulate private investment in industrial equipment and machinery, supporting demand for manufacturers.

Biggest companies in the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US

Company
Market Share (%)
2024
Revenue ($m)
2024
Profit ($m)
2024
Profit Margin (%)
2024
T-Mobile Us, Inc.
12,964.4
264.8
2.0
L3harris Technologies, Inc.
3,928.9
656.3
16.7
Garmin Ltd.
3,636.4
40.0
1.1

To view the market share and analysis for all 23 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.

Products & Services Segmentation

Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US
Products & Services
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Broadcast, studio and related electronic equipment, Wireless networking equipment and Radio station equipment. Broadcast, studio and related electronic equipment is the largest segment of the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US.

Trends and Insights

Radio station equipment is slowly expanding

  • Radio station products serve multiple purposes: space, airborne, marine, earth, fixed, earth and mobile-based stations. Many other non-broadcast types of radio stations exist, including base stations for police, fire and ambulance networks, military base stations, dispatch base stations for taxis, emergency broadcast systems and amateur, low-power radio systems.
  • More insights available in the full report

Table of Contents

About this industry

Industry definition

Operators in this industry primarily manufacture broadcasting and other wireless communication equipment. Examples of such equipment include antennas, set-top boxes, GPS systems, cell phones, satellite uplink technologies and radio and TV broadcasting equipment. Operators in this industry do not manufacture radio or TV sets, intercoms or equipment to test communication signals.

What's included in this industry?

Manufacturing transmitting-and-receiving antennasManufacturing cable TV equipmentManufacturing GPS equipmentManufacturing mobile communication equipmentManufacturing radio and TV broadcast equipment

Companies

T-Mobile Us, Inc.L3harris Technologies, Inc.Garmin Ltd.

Purchase this report to view all 23 major companies in this industry.

Related Terms

3G NETWORKCODE DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS (CDMA)WIDEBAND CODE DIVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS (W-CDMA)WORLDWIDE INTEROPERABILITY FOR MICROWAVE ACCESSSMARTPHONEOUTSOURCEOFFSHORE

Industry Code

NAICS 2017

NAICS 33422 - Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US

Performance

Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.

Analyst insights

Imports force domestic manufacturers to produce high-end products. The inability to compete with low-priced imports forced manufacturers to change their pricing strategy. Wit...

In this chapter (4)

  • Current Performance
  • Outlook
  • Volatility
  • Life Cycle

Key metrics

  • Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
  • Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
  • Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
  • Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business

Charts

  • Revenue, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Employees, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Businesses, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Profit, including historical (2014-2024)
  • Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
  • Industry Life Cycle

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
  • Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
  • Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
  • How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.

Products and Markets

Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.

Analyst insight

Cord-cutting trends and subscription services threaten markets. These replace traditional radio and TV broadcasts and require significantly less equipment distribution.

In this chapter

  • Products & Services
  • Major Markets
  • International Trade

Key metrics

  • Largest market segment and value in 2024
  • Product innovation level
  • Total imports, level and trend
  • Total exports, level and trend
  • Trade Balance

Charts

  • Products & services segmentation in 2024
  • Major market segmentation in 2024
  • International trade, including imports by country and exports by country

Detailed analysis

  • Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
  • Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
  • Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
  • Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services
  • Recent trends in import and export volumes, country of origin or destination, and expected future trends

Geographic Breakdown

Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.

Analyst insights

Proximity to trade routes benefits manufacturers engaging in imports and exports. Companies in the West have easy access to Asian imports, while Mid-Atlantic and Southeast ma...

In this chapter (1)

  • Business Locations

Charts

  • Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each state
  • Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2024

Tables

  • Number and share of establishments in each state in 2024
  • Number and share of revenue each state accounts for in 2024
  • Number and share of wages each state accounts for in 2024
  • Number and share of employees in each state in 2024

Detailed analysis

  • Geographic spread of the industry across North America, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
  • Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage

Competitive Forces

Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.

Analyst insights

Imports of communication equipment are strong and unlikely to face significant losses. Most manufacturers have fully or partially offshored operations to lower production cos...

In this chapter (4)

  • Concentration
  • Barriers to Entry
  • Substitutes
  • Buyer & Supplier Analysis

Key metrics

  • Industry concentration level
  • Industry competition level and trend
  • Barriers to entry level and trend
  • Substitutes level and trend
  • Buyer power level and trend
  • Supplier power level and trend

Charts

  • Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2019-2024
  • Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart

Detailed analysis

  • Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
  • Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
  • Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
  • Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
  • Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
  • Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
  • Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
  • Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
  • Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.

Companies

Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.

Analyst insights

Large companies offering network services rolled out 5G networks. The new network supports other technologies besides cell phones and computers, creating growth opportunities...

In this chapter

  • Market Share Concentration
  • Companies
  • Company Spotlights

Charts

  • Industry market share by company in 2020 through 2024
  • Major companies in the industry, including market share, revenue, profit and profit margin in 2024
  • Overview of T-Mobile Us, Inc.'s performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
  • Overview of L3harris Technologies, Inc.'s performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
  • Overview of Garmin Ltd.'s performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
  • Overview of revenue, market share and profit margin trend for 20 additional companies

Detailed analysis

  • Description and key data for T-Mobile Us, Inc., and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description and key data for L3harris Technologies, Inc., and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description and key data for Garmin Ltd., and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description, key data and performance trends for 20 additional companies

External Environment

Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.   

Analyst insights

FCC Regulations Keep Devices in Check. The FCC ensures that devices don’t disrupt others by strictly regulating radio frequency usage. Companies must get FCC approval before ...

In this chapter

  • External Drivers
  • Regulation & Policy
  • Assistance

Key metrics

  • Regulation & policy level and trend
  • Assistance level and trend

Charts

  • Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2014-2029) 
  • Assistance historical data and forecast (2014-2029) 

Detailed analysis

  • Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
  • Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
  • Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.

Financial Benchmarks

View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time. 

Analyst insights

Profitability is shrinking under economic pressure. With weakened demand from major markets and rising input costs, especially semiconductors, many manufacturers are dwindlin...

In this chapter

  • Cost Structure
  • Financial Ratios
  • Key Ratios

Key metrics

  • Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
  • Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
  • Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
  • Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio

Charts

  • Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
  • Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
  • Investment vs. share of economy

Data tables

  • Industry Multiples (2017-2022)
  • Industry Tax Structure (2017-2022)
  • Income Statement (2017-2022)
  • Balance Sheet (2017-2022)
  • Liquidity Ratios (2017-2022)
  • Coverage Ratios (2017-2022)
  • Leverage Ratios  (2017-2022)
  • Operating Ratios (2017-2022)
  • Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2014-2029)
  • Revenue per Employee (2014-2029)
  • Revenue per Enterprise (2014-2029)
  • Employees per Establishment (2014-2029)
  • Employees per Enterprise (2014-2029)
  • Average Wage (2014-2029)
  • Wages/Revenue (2014-2029)
  • Establishments per Enterprise (2014-2029)
  • IVA/Revenue (2014-2029)
  • Imports/Demand (2014-2029)
  • Exports/Revenue (2014-2029)

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability 

Key Statistics

Industry Data

Data Tables

Including values and annual change:

  • Revenue (2014-2029)
  • IVA (2014-2029)
  • Establishments (2014-2029)
  • Enterprises (2014-2029)
  • Employment (2014-2029)
  • Exports (2014-2029)
  • Imports (2014-2029)
  • Wages (2014-2029)

Top Questions Answered

Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.

What is the market size of the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States in 2024?

The market size of the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States is $28.7bn in 2024.

How many businesses are there in the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in 2024?

There are 551 businesses in the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States, which has declined at a CAGR of 3.0 % between 2019 and 2024.

Has the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States grown or declined over the past 5 years?

The market size of the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States has been declining at a CAGR of 2.4 % between 2019 and 2024.

What is the forecast growth of the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States over the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States is expected to grow.

What are the biggest companies in the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US market in United States?

The biggest companies operating in the Communication Equipment Manufacturing market in United States are T-Mobile Us, Inc., L3harris Technologies, Inc. and Garmin Ltd.

What does the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US in United States include?

Manufacturing transmitting-and-receiving antennas and Manufacturing cable TV equipment are part of the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry.

Which companies have the highest market share in the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US in United States?

The company holding the most market share in United States is T-Mobile Us, Inc..

How competitive is the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States?

The level of competition is high and increasing in the Communication Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry in United States.

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Methodology

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Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.

IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.

What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?

Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.

Key data sources in the US include: 

  • US Census Bureau
  • US Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • US International Trade Commission

Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.

These sources include:

  • Industry and trade associations
  • Industry federations or regulators
  • Major industry players annual or quarterly filings

Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.

How does IBISWorld forecast its data?

IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.

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