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NAICS 2022

331

Primary Metal Manufacturing

Analysis

NAICS 331 is the 2022 subsector for primary metal manufacturing. Census lists 511 example activities under it in the official index.

County Business Patterns counts 3,570 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 354,914 people at an average annual payroll of $83,673 per employee (72nd percentile of national industries). 18% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which points to larger operations.

Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 13% and employment fell 5%. 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.

Across its national industries Census lists 511 index entries; typical ones are armor plate made in iron and steel mills, boiler tubes, wrought, made from purchased iron, bars, concrete reinforcing (rebar), made from purchased… and barbed and twisted wire made in wire drawing plants.

Its goods appear in 1205 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 7304 (tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, seamless, of iron (other…), 7219 (flat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of 600…) and 7306 (other tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open…). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.

It splits into 5 more detailed codes. The largest by establishments is 3315 (Foundries) with 1,335.

Official definition

Industries in the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector smelt and/or refine ferrous and nonferrous metals from ore, pig, or scrap, using electrometallurgical and other process metallurgical techniques. Establishments in this subsector also manufacture metal alloys and superalloys by introducing other chemical elements to pure metals. The output of smelting and refining, usually in ingot form, is used in rolling, drawing, and extruding operations to make sheet, strip, bar, rod, or wire, and in molten form to make castings and other basic metal products.

Primary manufacturing of ferrous and nonferrous metals begins with ore or concentrate as the primary input. Establishments manufacturing primary metals from ore and/or concentrate remain classified in the primary smelting, primary refining, or iron and steel mill industries regardless of the form of their output. Establishments primarily engaged in secondary smelting and/or secondary refining recover ferrous and nonferrous metals from scrap and/or dross. The output of the secondary smelting and/or secondary refining industries is limited to shapes such as ingot or billet that will be further processed. Recovery of metals from scrap often occurs in establishments that are primarily engaged in activities, such as rolling, drawing, extruding, or similar processes.

Excluded from the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing ferrous and nonferrous forgings (except ferrous forgings made in steel mills) and stampings. Although forging, stamping, and casting are all methods used to make metal shapes, forging and stamping do not use molten metals and are included in Subsector 332, Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing. Establishments primarily engaged in operating coke ovens are classified in Industry 32419, Other Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing.

Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.

Index entries (511)

  • Armor plate made in iron and steel mills
  • Boiler tubes, wrought, made from purchased iron
  • Bars, concrete reinforcing (rebar), made from purchased steel in steel rolling mills
  • Barbed and twisted wire made in wire drawing plants
  • Alumina refining
  • Alloying purchased aluminum metals
  • Aluminum foil made by flat rolling purchased aluminum
  • Aluminum bar made by extruding purchased aluminum
  • Antimony refining, primary
  • Aircraft and automotive wire or cable made from purchased copper in wire drawing plants
  • Aircraft and automotive wire and cable (except aluminum, copper) made from purchased nonferrous metals (except aluminum, copper) in wire drawing plants
  • Alloying purchased nonferrous metals (except aluminum, copper)
  • Cast iron brake shoes, railroad, manufacturing
  • Foundries, steel investment
  • Alloy steel castings (except investment), unfinished, manufacturing
  • Aluminum die-casting foundries
  • Aluminum castings (except die-castings), unfinished, manufacturing
  • Beryllium castings (except die-castings), unfinished manufacturing