[starky]

This is one area of manufacturing that I am sorely lacking on knowledge in. However, isn't value added calculated on the COGS? That is, they take all the inputs, and then add labour, raw materials, property, etc. to get the total cost?

[amluto]

I’m not sure. I do suspect that a naive calculation of COGS gives essentially arbitrary results. Consider a hypothetical phone assembled in the USA. Maybe COGS is quite low. Then the maker shifts profits to Ireland by selling its IP to an Irish subsidiary and licensing it back at ruinous rates. Did COGS go up?

For factory productivity numbers, I assume that labor is not subtracted from value. If one person at $50/hr builds $51/hr of widgets completely from scratch, their productivity is $51/hr, not $1/hr.