Analysis
NAICS 321114 is the 2022 national industry for wood preservation, part of 32111 (Sawmills and Wood Preservation). Census lists 25 example activities under it in the official index.
By establishments it ranks 2nd of the 2 codes at this level within Sawmills and Wood Preservation, with 11.9% of them.
County Business Patterns counts 362 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 11,819 people at an average annual payroll of $66,027 per employee (45th percentile of national industries). 23% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which points to larger operations.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include bridge and trestle parts, wood, treating, creosoting of wood, crossties, treating and flooring, wood block, treating, among 25 in all.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 8% and employment rose 3%. The 2018 count used NAICS 2017, so part of a large move can come from codes being redefined rather than from businesses opening or closing.
Its goods appear in 13 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 4403 (wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sap-…), 4407 (wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether…) and 4406 (railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in (1) treating wood sawed, planed, or shaped in other establishments with creosote or other preservatives, such as alkaline copper quat, copper azole, and sodium borates, to prevent decay and to protect against fire and insects and/or (2) sawing round wood poles, pilings, and posts and treating them with preservatives.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Index entries (25)
- Bridge and trestle parts, wood, treating
- Creosoting of wood
- Crossties, treating
- Flooring, wood block, treating
- Millwork, treating
- Mine props, treating
- Mine ties, wood, treated, manufacturing
- Pilings, foundation and marine construction, treating
- Pilings, round wood, cutting and treating
- Pilings, wood, treating
- Poles, round wood, cutting and treating
- Poles, wood, treating
- Posts, round wood, cutting and treating
- Posts, wood, treating
- Preserving purchased wood and wood products
- Pressure treated lumber made from purchased lumber
- Railroad ties (i.e., bridge, cross, switch) treating
- Structural lumber and timber, treating
- Ties, wood railroad bridge, cross, and switch, treating
- Timber, structural, treating
- Treating purchased wood and wood products
- Treating wood products with creosote or other preservatives
- Trestle parts, wood, treating
- Wood fence (i.e., pickets, poling, rails), treating
- Wood products, creosoting purchased wood products