Also known as: industrial good · manufactured goods
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Goods used for the production of other goods or services. The category encompasses equipment and machinery acquired to facilitate manufacturing or commercial operations rather than for personal consumption.
HarborSteel orally agreed to sell marine-grade steel plates to BlueWave for use in ship construction. The plates were existing inventory that could be detached and moved at the time of identification. Because the steel qualified as goods under UCC § 2-105(1), the sales article governed the transaction once the confirmation email satisfied the statute of frauds.
The United States sued the E. C. Knight Company after it acquired several sugar refineries. The refineries and their equipment were used to produce refined sugar for interstate markets. The Court examined whether the acquisition fell within federal regulatory authority over commerce.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
K Mart imported replacement parts for Cartier watches without authorization. The parts were manufactured for assembly and repair rather than end-user consumption. The Court addressed whether the importation violated trademark restrictions on genuine goods.
Robert Daly was injured when his vehicle door opened during an accident. The car contained a door-latch assembly produced for incorporation into consumer automobiles. The court considered how comparative fault principles interact with strict products liability for those components.
A lumber mill owner shipped finished boards in interstate commerce while failing to maintain required wage records. The boards were produced for construction markets. The Court upheld federal authority to regulate the production conditions of those goods under the commerce power.
A North Carolina cotton mill employed minors to operate looms producing fabric for interstate sale. The looms and raw materials were used to manufacture textiles. The Court considered whether Congress could prohibit shipment of the resulting products under the commerce clause.
Industrial goods are those acquired for use in producing other goods or services, such as machinery and equipment. Consumer goods are those bought primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The distinction determines which commercial rules apply to a transaction.
Yes. The UCC definition of goods expressly includes specially manufactured goods that are movable at identification to the contract. Industrial goods used in production therefore qualify when they meet the movability requirement.
Yes, when they are identified to a sales contract and remain movable at that time. Stoves, refrigerators, and similar production equipment attached to a building can be treated as goods if they can be detached without substantial damage.
…that seek to influence conduct are nothing new. Some of our earliest federal taxes sought to deter the purchase of imported manufactured goods in order to foster the growth of domestic industry. See W. Brownlee, Federal Taxation in America 22 (2d ed. 2004); cf. 2 J. Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States §…