Analysis
NAICS 325180 is the 2022 national industry for other basic inorganic chemical manufacturing, part of 32518 (Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing). Census lists 198 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 705 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 41,447 people at an average annual payroll of $106,159 per employee (87th percentile of national industries). 17% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which points to larger operations.
Census lists 10 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 325120, 325130, 325612 and 212390. 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.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments grew 9% 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 index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include alkalies manufacturing, aluminum chloride manufacturing, aluminum compounds, not specified elsewhere by process… and aluminum hydroxide (i.e., alumina trihydrate) manufacturing, among 198 in all.
Its goods appear in 289 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 2827 (chlorides, chloride oxides and chloride hydroxides…), 2844 (radioactive chemical elements and radioactive isotopes…) and 2833 (sulfates; alums; peroxosulfates (persulfates)). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing basic inorganic chemicals (except industrial gases and synthetic dyes and pigments).
Illustrative Examples:
Alkalies manufacturing Aluminum compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing Carbides (e.g., baron, calcium, silicon, tungsten) manufacturing Carbon black manufacturing Chlorine manufacturing Hydrochloric acid manufacturing Potassium inorganic compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing Radioactive isotopes manufacturing Sulfides and sulfites manufacturing Sulfuric acid manufacturing
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing industrial gases | 325120 Industrial Gas Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing inorganic dyes and pigments | 325130 Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing household bleaches | 325612 Polish and Other Sanitation Good Manufacturing |
| Mining and/or beneficiating alkalies | 212390 Other Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying |
| Manufacturing chlorine preparations (e.g., for swimming pools) | 325998 All Other Miscellaneous Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing nitrogenous and phosphoric fertilizers and fertilizer materials | 32531 Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing pharmaceuticals, medicines, and dietary supplements | 3254 Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing aluminum oxide (alumina) | 331313 Alumina Refining and Primary Aluminum Production |
| Manufacturing inorganic insecticidal, herbicidal, fungicidal and pesticidal preparations | 325320 Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing photographic chemicals | 325992 Photographic Film, Paper, Plate, Chemical, and Copy Toner Manufacturing |
Index entries (198)
- Alkalies manufacturing
- Aluminum chloride manufacturing
- Aluminum compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing
- Aluminum hydroxide (i.e., alumina trihydrate) manufacturing
- Aluminum sulfate manufacturing
- Alums (e.g., aluminum ammonium sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate) manufacturing
- Ammonium chloride manufacturing
- Ammonium compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing
- Ammonium hydroxide manufacturing
- Ammonium molybdate manufacturing
- Ammonium perchlorate manufacturing
- Ammonium thiosulfate manufacturing
- Animal black manufacturing
- Antimony oxide (except pigments) manufacturing
- Arsenates (except insecticides) manufacturing
- Arsenic compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing
- Arsenites (except insecticides) manufacturing
- Barium compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing
- Barium hydroxide manufacturing
- Beryllium oxide manufacturing
- Bleaching agents, inorganic, manufacturing
- Bone black manufacturing
- Borax (i.e., sodium borate) manufacturing
- Boric acid manufacturing
- Boron compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing
- Borosilicate manufacturing
- Bromine manufacturing
- Calcium carbide, chloride, and hypochlorite manufacturing
- Calcium hypochlorite manufacturing
- Calcium inorganic compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing
- Carbides (e.g., boron, calcium, silicon, tungsten) manufacturing
- Carbon black manufacturing
- Carbon disulfide manufacturing
- Carbon inorganic compounds manufacturing
- Carbonic acid manufacturing
- Caustic potash manufacturing
- Caustic soda (i.e., sodium hydroxide) manufacturing
- Cerium salts manufacturing
- Cesium and cesium compounds, not specified elsewhere by process, manufacturing
- Channel black manufacturing