Analysis
NAICS 33131 is the 2022 NAICS industry for alumina and aluminum production and processing, part of 3313 (Alumina and Aluminum Production and Processing). Census lists 105 example activities under it in the official index.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 14% and employment fell 4%. 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.
County Business Patterns counts 431 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 57,358 people at an average annual payroll of $76,177 per employee (63rd percentile of national industries). 14% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which points to larger operations.
Across its national industries Census lists 105 index entries; typical ones are alumina refining, alloying purchased aluminum metals, aluminum foil made by flat rolling purchased aluminum and aluminum bar made by extruding purchased aluminum.
Its goods appear in 69 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 7606 (aluminum plates, sheets and strip, of a thickness exceeding…), 7604 (aluminum bars, rods and profiles) and 7601 (unwrought aluminum). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
It splits into 4 more detailed codes. The largest by establishments is 331318 (Other Aluminum Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding) with 227.
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in one or more of the following: (1) refining alumina; (2) making (i.e., the primary production) aluminum from alumina; (3) recovering aluminum from scrap or dross; (4) alloying purchased aluminum; and (5) manufacturing aluminum primary forms (e.g., bar, foil, pipe, plate, rod, sheet, tube, wire).
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing aluminum oxide abrasives and refractories | 327 Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing |
| Sorting, breaking up, and wholesaling scrap aluminum metal without also smelting or refining | 42393 Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers |
| Operating facilities where commingled recyclable materials, such as paper, plastics, used beverage cans, and metals, are sorted into distinct categories without also smelting or refining | 56292 Materials Recovery Facilities |
Index entries (105)
- Alumina refining
- Alloying purchased aluminum metals
- Aluminum foil made by flat rolling purchased aluminum
- Aluminum bar made by extruding purchased aluminum