Analysis
NAICS 3261 is the 2022 industry group for plastics product manufacturing, part of 326 (Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing). Census lists 156 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 9,636 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 677,305 people at an average annual payroll of $59,808 per employee (32nd percentile of national industries). 19% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which points to larger operations.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 2 codes at this level within Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing, with 84.6% of them.
Across its national industries Census lists 156 index entries; typical ones are bags, plastics film, single wall or multiwall, manufacturing, film, plastics, packaging, manufacturing, acrylic film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging)… and casings, sausage, nonrigid plastics, manufacturing.
Its goods appear in 164 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 3926 (other articles of plastics and articles of other materials…), 3920 (other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics…) and 3921 (other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
It splits into 7 more detailed codes. The largest by establishments is 32619 (Other Plastics Product Manufacturing) with 5,833.
Official definition
This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in processing new or spent (i.e., recycled) plastics resins into intermediate or final products, using such processes as compression molding; extrusion molding; injection molding; blow molding; and casting. Within most of these industries, the production process is such that a wide variety of products can be made.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Index entries (156)
- Bags, plastics film, single wall or multiwall, manufacturing
- Film, plastics, packaging, manufacturing
- Acrylic film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
- Casings, sausage, nonrigid plastics, manufacturing
- Fittings and unions, rigid plastics pipe, manufacturing
- Laminated plastics plate, rod, and sheet, manufacturing
- Coolers or ice chests, polystyrene foam, manufacturing
- Cushions, carpet and rug, urethane and other foam plastics (except polystyrene), manufacturing
- Bottles, plastics, manufacturing
- Bathtubs, plastics, manufacturing
- Awnings, rigid plastics or fiberglass, manufacturing