Any industry that makes products from raw materials by the use of manual labour or machines and that is usually carried out systematically with a division of labour.
In a more limited sense, manufacturing is the fabrication or assembly of components into finished products on a fairly large scale. Among the most important manufacturing industries are those that produce aircraft, automobiles, chemicals, clothing, computers, consumer electronics, electrical equipment, furniture, heavy machinery, refined petroleum products, ships, steel, and tools. See also factory ; mass production .