Haverhill's economy is dominated by industry, and a large industrial area on the southern side of the town is home to a large number of manufacturing companies such as Wisdom toothbrushes, Gurteen clothing, Winmau Dartboards, and Grampian Foods (in Little Wratting near Haverhill). Other companies deal in chemicals (International Flavours & Fragrances), waste processing, transport and construction. More recently, a cutting edge biotechnology firm - Genzyme has also moved in. In November 2004, Haverhill achieved an alleged world first, becoming the only known town to feature a laser-lit sculpture on a roundabout. The steel sculpture, called Spirit of Enterprise, dominates the main gateway roundabout on the road from Cambridge, and has caused controversy among local people. A weekly market is held in the town in the High Street, this has been a long running tradition throughout Haverhill's history (as is also the case for many other market towns in England).

Industry is the segment of economy concerned with production of goods. Industry began in its present form during the 1800s, aided by technological advances, and it has continued to develop to this day. Many "developed" countries (The U.S., the UK, Canada) depend significantly on industry. Industries, the countries they reside in, and the economies of those countries are interlinked in a complex web that may be hard to understand at first glance.

Industry in the second sense became a key sector of production in European and North American countries during the Industrial Revolution, which upset previous mercantile and feudal economies through many successive rapid advances in technology, such as the development of steam engines, power looms, and advances in large scale steel and coal production. Industrial countries then assumed a capitalist economic policy. Railroads and steam-powered ships began speedily establishing links with previously unreachable world markets, enabling private companies to develop to then-unheard of size and wealth. Manufacturing is a wealth producing sector in an economy. Following the Industrial Revolution, perhaps a third of the world's economic output is derived from manufacturing industries—more than agriculture's share.

In economics and urban planning, industrial is a type of land use and economic activity involved with manufacturing and production.