Analysis
NAICS 3315 is the 2022 industry group for foundries, part of 331 (Primary Metal Manufacturing). Census lists 83 example activities under it in the official index.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 16% and employment fell 10%. 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.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 5 codes at this level within Primary Metal Manufacturing, with 37.4% of them.
County Business Patterns counts 1,335 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 107,273 people at an average annual payroll of $67,263 per employee (47th percentile of national industries). 15% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which points to larger operations.
Across its national industries Census lists 83 index entries; typical ones are cast iron brake shoes, railroad, manufacturing, foundries, steel investment, alloy steel castings (except investment), unfinished… and aluminum die-casting foundries.
Its goods appear in 41 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 7307 (tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows…), 7325 (other cast articles of iron or steel) and 8455 (metal-rolling mills and rolls therefor; parts thereof). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
Official definition
This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in pouring molten metal into molds or dies to form castings. Establishments making castings and further manufacturing, such as machining or assembling, a specific manufactured product are classified in the industry of the finished product. Foundries may perform operations, such as cleaning and deburring, on the castings they manufacture. More involved processes, such as tapping, threading, milling, or machining to tight tolerances, that transform castings into more finished products are classified elsewhere in the Manufacturing sector based on the product made.
Establishments in this industry group make castings from purchased metals or in integrated secondary smelting and casting facilities. When the production of primary metals is combined with making castings, the establishment is classified in Subsector 331, Primary Metal Manufacturing, with the primary metal made.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Index entries (83)
- 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