Analysis
NAICS 42351 is the 2022 NAICS industry for metal service centers and other metal merchant wholesalers, part of 4235 (Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers).
It has only one more detailed code, 423510, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 8,608 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 145,207 people at an average annual payroll of $85,374 per employee (74th percentile of national industries). 39% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 2 codes at this level within Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers, with 96.8% of them.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 7% and employment fell 2%. 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.
Official definition
See industry description for 423510.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.