Analysis
NAICS 339115 is the 2022 national industry for ophthalmic goods manufacturing, part of 33911 (Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing). Census lists 12 example activities under it in the official index.
By establishments it ranks 5th of the 5 codes at this level within Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing, with 4.8% of them.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 12% and employment fell 7%. 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 426 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 23,391 people at an average annual payroll of $67,638 per employee (48th percentile of national industries). 31% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include contact lenses manufacturing, eyeglass frames (i.e., fronts and temples), ophthalmic…, eyes, glass and plastics, manufacturing and goggles (e.g., industrial, safety, sun, underwater)…, among 12 in all.
Its goods appear in 10 statistical lines of the US tariff schedule, mostly under headings 9001 (optical fibers and optical fiber bundles; optical fiber…), 9003 (frames and mountings for spectacles, goggles or the like…) and 9004 (spectacles, goggles and the like, corrective, protective or…). That link is how import data is matched to domestic producers, for example in trade-remedy cases.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing ophthalmic goods. Examples of products made by these establishments are prescription eyeglasses (except grinding lenses in a retail setting), contact lenses, sunglasses, eyeglass frames, reading glasses made to standard powers, and protective eyewear.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing intraocular lenses | 339113 Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing molded glass lens blanks | 327212 Other Pressed and Blown Glass and Glassware Manufacturing |
| Manufacturing molded plastics lens blanks | 326199 All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing |
| Retailing and grinding prescription eyeglasses | 456130 Optical Goods Retailers |
Index entries (12)
- Contact lenses manufacturing
- Eyeglass frames (i.e., fronts and temples), ophthalmic, manufacturing
- Eyes, glass and plastics, manufacturing
- Goggles (e.g., industrial, safety, sun, underwater) manufacturing
- Lens coating, ophthalmic
- Lens grinding, ophthalmic (except in retail stores)
- Lens mounts, ophthalmic, manufacturing
- Lens polishing, ophthalmic
- Lenses, ophthalmic, manufacturing
- Magnifiers, corrective vision-type, manufacturing
- Sunglasses and goggles manufacturing
- Temples and fronts (i.e., eyeglass frames), ophthalmic, manufacturing