Understanding NAICS codes and their predecessor, SIC codes, will help you gather information on ENTIRE INDUSTRIES. A primer on these two coding systems is presented here.
ABOUT THESE INDUSTRIAL CODES + CODE-FINDING TOOLS
The NAICS classification system is maintained under the auspices of the U.S. Census Bureau. Looking for the NAICS code for a given industry? A simple (precise) keyword search will reveal such information HERE. The NAICS Association reports on the history of this coding system HERE, which, in 1997, replaced the somewhat outdated SIC coding system, first developed in the 1930s. The SIC system simply was, in many cases, unable to keep up with the new industries that have come on line recently (and that will, most assuredly, come on line into the future).
The NAICS Association provides a NAICS (and SIC) Indentification Tool HERE. With this tool, enter either an industry keyword or phrase and find the corresponding NAICS industry code. This tool also gives you the ability, in many cases, to enter a business or company NAME to find into which NAICS industry code it belongs.
That said, an NAICS keyword search on DRONES reveals that ITS industry code is 336411.
An informative side-by-side comparison of NAICS to SIC is provided by the Washington State Department of Revenue. A portion of that article follows:
Both Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes identify a firm's primary business activity. For example a firm with SIC 571 primarily sells retail furniture. A firm with NAICS 311 is primarily engaged in food manufacturing.
These codes were developed by the federal government and are used by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as well as many other U.S. statistical agencies. In 1997, OMB adopted NAICS as its new industry classification system.
Every registered Washington firm is assigned a SIC or NAICS code. SIC codes can be up to four digits and NAICS codes can be up to six digits. The Quarterly Business Review (QBR) and the other Create a Report functions (i.e. Gross Business Income report, Statewide Taxable Retail Sales report, Local Sales/Use report) use these codes to group firms together to create informative and useful information. Because the national standard changed from the use of SIC codes to the use of NAICS codes, in November 2004 the Department stopped assigning SIC codes and now only assigns NAICS codes.
For a list of SIC codes click here HERE.For a list of NAICS codes click here HERE.
NAICS codes provide a greater level of detail about a firm's activity than SIC codes. NAICS includes 1,170 industries and SIC includes 1,004 industries. There are 358 new industries recognized in NAICS, 250 of which are services producing industries.
Additionally, NAICS codes are based on a consistent, economic concept, while SIC codes are not. For NAICS codes, establishments that use the same or similar processes to produce goods or services are grouped together. Industries under the SIC codes were grouped together based on either demand or production.
(This ENTIRE article can be found HERE.)
Ken Distler
Reference Librarian III
kdistler@nyit.edu / 516-686-1154/7657