Analysis
NAICS 32111 is the 2022 NAICS industry for sawmills and wood preservation, part of 3211 (Sawmills and Wood Preservation). Census lists 52 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 3,053 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 91,690 people at an average annual payroll of $61,318 per employee (36th percentile of national industries). 32% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Across its national industries Census lists 52 index entries; typical ones are beams, wood, made from logs or bolts and bridge and trestle parts, wood, treating.
Its goods appear in 99 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 4407 (wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether…), 4403 (wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sap-…) and 4409 (wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring…). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
It splits into 2 more detailed codes. The largest by establishments is 321113 (Sawmills) with 2,691.
Census lists 3 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 11331, 32121 and 32191. Businesses that do several things are classified by their primary activity, the one that generates the most value, so check those boundaries before settling on this code.
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in one or more of the following: (1) sawing dimension lumber, boards, beams, timber, poles, ties, shingles, shakes, siding, and wood chips from logs or bolts; (2) sawing round wood poles, pilings, and posts and treating them with preservatives; and (3) treating wood sawed, planed, or shaped in other establishments with creosote or other preservatives to prevent decay and to protect against fire and insects. Sawmills may plane the rough lumber that they make with a planing machine to achieve smoothness and uniformity of size.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Operating portable chipper mills in the field | 11331 Logging |
| Manufacturing veneer from logs and bolts or manufacturing engineered lumber and structural members other than solid wood | 32121 Veneer, Plywood, and Engineered Wood Product Manufacturing |
| Planing purchased lumber or manufacturing cut stock or dimension stock (i.e., shapes) from logs or bolts | 32191 Millwork |
Index entries (52)
- Beams, wood, made from logs or bolts
- Bridge and trestle parts, wood, treating