Analysis
NAICS 33661 is the 2022 NAICS industry for ship and boat building, part of 3366 (Ship and Boat Building). Census lists 45 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 1,427 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 150,621 people at an average annual payroll of $68,504 per employee (50th percentile of national industries). 32% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Across its national industries Census lists 45 index entries; typical ones are barge building and air boat building.
Its goods appear in 50 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 8903 (yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports; row boats…), 8901 (cruise ships, excursion boats, ferry boats, cargo ships…) and 8905 (light-vessels, fire-floats, dredgers, floating cranes, and…). 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 336612 (Boat Building) with 930.
Census lists 3 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 32629, 32619 and 48839. Businesses that do several things are classified by their primary activity, the one that generates the most value, so check those boundaries before settling on this code.
Official definition
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in operating shipyards or boat yards (i.e., ship or boat manufacturing facilities). Shipyards are fixed facilities with drydocks and fabrication equipment capable of building a ship, defined as watercraft typically suitable or intended for other than personal or recreational use. Boats are defined as watercraft typically suitable or intended for personal use. Activities of shipyards include the construction of ships, their repair, conversion and alteration, production of prefabricated ship and barge sections, and specialized services, such as ship scaling.
Illustrative Examples:
Barge building Boat yards (i.e., boat manufacturing facilities) Cargo ship building Drilling and production platforms, floating, oil and gas, building Passenger ship building Inflatable plastic boats, heavy-duty, manufacturing Inflatable rubber boats, heavy-duty, manufacturing Rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) manufacturing Boats (e.g., motorboats, rowboats, canoes, kayaks) manufacturing
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing inflatable rubber swimming pool rafts and similar flotation devices | 32629 Other Rubber Product Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing inflatable plastic swimming pool rafts and similar flotation devices | 32619 Other Plastics Product Manufacturing |
| Ship repairs performed in floating drydocks | 48839 Other Support Activities for Water Transportation |
Index entries (45)
- Barge building
- Air boat building