Analysis
NAICS 3271 is the 2022 industry group for clay product and refractory manufacturing, part of 327 (Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing). Census lists 123 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 1,036 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 35,582 people at an average annual payroll of $59,607 per employee (32nd percentile of national industries). 38% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Across its national industries Census lists 123 index entries; typical ones are advanced and technical ceramic products manufacturing and adobe bricks manufacturing.
Its goods appear in 137 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 6907 (ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; ceramic…), 6911 (tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet…) and 6912 (). 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 32711 (Pottery, Ceramics, and Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing) with 575.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 6% and employment fell 0%. 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.
Official definition
This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in (1) shaping, molding, glazing, and firing pottery, ceramics, and plumbing fixtures, and electrical supplies made entirely or partly of clay or other ceramic materials or (2) shaping, molding, baking, burning, or hardening clay refractories, nonclay refractories, ceramic tile, structural clay tile, brick, and other structural clay building materials.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Index entries (123)
- Advanced and technical ceramic products manufacturing
- Adobe bricks manufacturing