Breaking Barriers in Productivity

Back to Growth, but the Gap Is Widening

After more than a decade of decline and a sharp pandemic-era round trip, industrial productivity returned to growth in 2025. The recovery is real, but it is not shared evenly: the separation between the World’s Most Productive Companies™ and everyone else is widening, not closing.

The LNS Research Industrial Productivity Index™ tracks 600+ publicly traded companies across 10 industries, and the 2025 data is a call to action for manufacturing COOs.

The leaders are turning consistent productivity growth into durable advantage through evolved operating models, disciplined capital allocation, and redesigned supply networks. The opportunity for everyone else is to close the gap before it widens further.