Oil and gas
The oil and gas industry is the largest in the United States. This industry is responsible for every industry related to oil or gas, including electricity, gasoline, plastic products, and crude oil products. Currently, the industry brings in over 5 trillion dollars each year, which is much more than most other industries in the United States. Over 4 billion of that money is pure profit for oil and gas companies. The current leaders in United States oil and gas include Royal Shell, BP, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron. These companies bring in the highest profits and overall revenue over all other oil companies in the United States.
Retail
It wouldn't be America if the retail industry was not one of the largest in the nation. The retail industry is responsible for bringing in 4.7 trillion dollars worth of business in 2011. This is a shocking amount of money that shows how important the retail industry is to the economy. Current American retail leaders include, Wal-mart, Verizon, CVS, and Kroger. The wide variance between the type of business of each company shows what is important to United States citizens.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry is also one of the largest in the United States. In 2011, the healthcare industry, including hospitals, medical centers, insurance firms, and doctor’s offices, brought in 1.7 trillion dollars. This indicates how important health is to Americans. Right now, the four biggest healthcare companies include Amgen Inc., Becton, Dickinson, and Company, Biogen Idec Inc., and the Celgene Corporation. These companies are responsible for operating insurance firms, hospitals, medical research centers, and more.
Automotive
It is no surprise that the automotive industry is profitable and one of the largest industries in the United States. All you have to do is look around and see how many vehicles are on American streets to prove how big the industry is. In 2011, the automotive industry may over 1.5 trillion dollars in revenue. The largest automotive companies in the United States include Volkswagen, Toyota, Tata, and Honda. Surprisingly enough, none of these biggest vehicle companies were originally based in the United States, although the companies now have United States headquarters and manufacturing plants.
Pharmaceutical
The pharmaceutical industry is also one of the largest in the United States. Aside from healthcare, this industry is about researching new medicines and providing them to sick Americans. In 2012, the Pharmaceutical industry made about 700 billion in revenue, mainly from the distribution of medicines and legal drugs. Right now, the largest pharmaceutical companies include Pfizer, Novartis, Merck and Co., and Bayer. Pfizer and Merck and Co. and American-based companies, while Novartis and Bayer originally started in other countries.
