The High Cost of Downtime: What U.S. Manufacturers Lose Each Month

In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, time is money—literally. Every minute of unplanned downtime can mean lost productivity, overtime costs for recovery efforts, delayed shipments, and significant financial losses. On average, U.S. manufacturers lose $260,000 per hour of downtime, according to a recent study by Aberdeen Research. In another study done by Siemens, the average cost of monthly downtime in US manufacturing is roughly $532,000 per hour, with large facilities losing 27 hours a month to unplanned downtime. Other sources indicate an hourly cost of downtime around $125,000 per hour. When scaled to a monthly basis, this adds up to staggering figures.

Assuming just four hours of unplanned downtime per month—a conservative estimate for many operations—the average monthly cost can exceed $1 million. This number balloons quickly for companies operating multiple production lines or facilities, making downtime one of the most expensive hidden costs in the industry.

The costs of downtime have been increasing, with some sources reporting a 32% rise in hourly downtime costs in the past seven years, according to Pingdom. The primary causes of downtime include equipment failure, unplanned maintenance, and human error. While these issues might seem inevitable, manufacturers are increasingly turning to predictive maintenance, IoT-enabled monitoring, and better training to cut downtime and reduce losses.

Reducing downtime isn't just about saving money—it’s about staying competitive. In a sector where efficiency is everything, even a few hours of downtime can have a lasting impact on supply chains, customer relationships and reputable damage, and long-term profitability.

For more than 30 years, Ames Electrical Consulting has been assisting the manufacturing industry by suggesting process improvements and updating or retrofitting outdated equipment to help our clients reduce downtime. Is your facility taking sufficient steps to minimize downtime and its related costs?