Manufacturing in Oregon is dominated by the lumber and wood products industry (one-fifth of total shipments). In 1997, the total value of shipments of manufactured goods was $50 billion, exhibiting a 56% growth from 1992 to 1997, 8th fastest in the nation. More than half of Oregon's industrial workers are employed in the Portland area. The Willamette Valley is the site of one of the nation's largest canning and freezing industries.
In 1997, Oregon was the headquarters of 6 Fortune 500 companies: Nike, Thrifty Payless Holdings, Pacificorp, Fred Meyer, Willamette Industries, and US Bancorp.
Earnings of persons employed in Oregon increased from $57.1 billion in 1997 to $60.1 billion in 1998, an increase of 5.2%. The largest industries in 1998 were services, 25.4% of earnings; durable goods manufacturing, 15.1%; and state and local government, 11.5%. Of the industries that accounted for at least 5% of earnings in 1998, the slowest growing from 1997 to 1998 was state and local government, which increased 4.5%; the fastest was finance, insurance, and real estate (6.7% of earnings in 1998), which increased 11.3%.