The US lead battery industry is responsible for a $32.9 billion annual economic impact in terms of output, according to a new study by Battery Council International (BCI), the North American battery industry trade association.
Impact on GDP is $13.7 billion, comprising workforce cost, suppliers and direct impact, it said.
- 120,610 jobs plus 742 jobs in R&D
- 37,490 direct jobs (manufacturing, transport, recycling, mining, services)
- $8.5 billion in labour income
- $13.7 billion in GDP
- $32.9 billion in output.
These impacts are spread across a variety of industries in 38 states, with services, trade, manufacturing, and transportation benefiting the most, according to the study. There are 121,000 manufacturing jobs in every major region of the US, where average wage paid in all lead battery sectors is $81,000, higher than salaries in other sectors.
The industry spends almost $113 million annually on R&D.
BCI said the last survey was in 2019 and not all results are comparable. The COVID pandemic caused changes at BCI member companies (closures and openings); BCI membership make-up changed; not all respondents were willing to provide state-by-state information.
Eighteen companies replied to the survey. BCI has 125 members, but not all of them manufacture batteries.
