What does manufacturing downtime cost?

Estimates vary by industry and study, from a few hundred euros per hour on a small line to roughly $2.3 million per hour on an automotive assembly line (Senseye/Siemens, 2022). Across large industrial firms, unplanned downtime is estimated to cost around 11% of annual revenue.

What is the average OEE in manufacturing?

A typical OEE for discrete manufacturers is around 60%, while 85% is considered world-class. Some equipment-level benchmarks, such as CNC machining, have measured averages closer to 25–30%.

How much downtime can predictive maintenance prevent?

Industry studies (e.g. Deloitte) report that predictive maintenance can reduce machine downtime by roughly 30–50% and extend machine life by 20–40%.

Manufacturing Downtime & OEE Statistics (2026)

A curated reference of the most-cited statistics on manufacturing downtime, OEE, micro-stops and maintenance. Every figure is attributed to its source. Use them freely - a citation back to this page is appreciated. Figures vary by industry and methodology; treat them as orientation, not gospel.

The cost of downtime

$2.3M

Cost of one hour of downtime on an automotive production line

Senseye (a Siemens business), True Cost of Downtime (2022)

~11%

Share of annual turnover the largest firms lose to unplanned downtime

Senseye / Siemens, True Cost of Downtime (2022)

82%

Of companies have experienced unplanned downtime in the past three years

Aberdeen Group

$50B

Estimated annual cost of unplanned downtime to industrial manufacturers

Deloitte

OEE & performance

~60%

Typical OEE for discrete manufacturers

Industry consensus (Vorne / Lean Production)

85%

The widely used world-class OEE benchmark

Industry consensus

25–30%

Measured average OEE on CNC machining in one large benchmark

MachineMetrics (2022)

Micro-stops & the hidden factory

5–20%

Performance loss commonly caused by micro-stops on packaging, filling and assembly lines

Industry estimates

10–18

OEE points by which measured OEE can exceed reality, because short stops go unlogged

Industry estimates

<5 min

Typical duration of a micro-stop - short enough that it's almost never recorded

Definition (small stops)

Maintenance & reliability

30–50%

Reduction in machine downtime achievable with predictive maintenance

Deloitte

20–40%

Increase in machine life attributed to predictive maintenance

Deloitte

~11%

Of failures are age-related; most are random, so most give a detectable warning sign (P-F interval) that condition monitoring can catch rather than a fixed schedule

Nowlan & Heap (RCM)

Put the numbers to work on your line

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Use these statistics

You're welcome to cite any figure above. Please link to OEE Lab as the reference and check each statistic against its original source for your context. We refresh this page as new studies are published.

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Calculate your own number: Downtime Cost, OEE, Hidden-Factory Loss.
Understand the concepts: What is OEE?, The true cost of downtime, Micro-stops & the hidden factory.

Are these figures verified?

Each is drawn from a named third-party study or established industry consensus and linked where possible. Methodologies differ, so figures are best used as ranges and orientation rather than precise universal values.

Can I reuse the statistics?

Yes - cite the original source and a link back to this page is appreciated. There is a ready-made embeddable version in the "Use these statistics" section above.

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