Analysis
NAICS 334210 is the 2022 national industry for telephone apparatus manufacturing, part of 33421 (Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing). Census lists 22 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 161 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 8,893 people at an average annual payroll of $150,260 per employee (97th percentile of national industries). 35% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 21% and employment fell 19%. 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.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include carrier equipment (i.e., analog, digital), telephone…, central office and switching equipment, telephone…, communications headgear, telephone, manufacturing and cordless telephones (except cellular) manufacturing, among 22 in all.
Its goods appear in 13 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 8517 (telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones…), 8518 (microphones and stands therefor; loudspeakers, whether or…) and 8443 (printing machinery used for printing by means of plates…). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
For example, manufacturing internal and external computer modems, single-user fax/modems, and electronic components used in telephone apparatus are classified in 33441 (Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing) instead.
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing wire telephone and data communications equipment. These products may be stand-alone or board-level components of a larger system. Examples of products made by these establishments are central office switching equipment, cordless and wire telephones (except cellular), PBX equipment, telephone answering machines, LAN modems, multi-user modems, and other data communications equipment, such as bridges, routers, and gateways.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing internal and external computer modems, single-user fax/modems, and electronic components used in telephone apparatus | 33441 Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing cellular telephones | 334220 Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing |
Index entries (22)
- Carrier equipment (i.e., analog, digital), telephone, manufacturing
- Central office and switching equipment, telephone, manufacturing
- Communications headgear, telephone, manufacturing
- Cordless telephones (except cellular) manufacturing
- Data communications equipment (e.g., bridges, gateways, routers) manufacturing
- Facsimile equipment, stand-alone, manufacturing
- Keysets, telephone, manufacturing
- Local area network (LAN) communications equipment (e.g., bridges, gateways, routers) manufacturing
- Modems, carrier equipment, manufacturing
- Multiplex equipment, telephone, manufacturing
- PBX (private branch exchange) equipment manufacturing
- Private branch exchange (PBX) equipment manufacturing
- Repeater and transceiver equipment, carrier line, manufacturing
- Subscriber loop equipment, telephone, manufacturing
- Switching equipment, telephone, manufacturing
- Telephone answering machines manufacturing
- Telephone carrier line equipment manufacturing
- Telephone carrier switching equipment manufacturing
- Telephones (except cellular telephone) manufacturing
- Telephones, coin- or card-operated, manufacturing
- Toll switching equipment, telephone, manufacturing
- Wide area network communications equipment (e.g., bridges, gateways, routers) manufacturing