Chemicals & Allied

SIC 2812 Alkalies and Chlorine - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

The two primary commodities offered by the alkalies and chlorine industry are chlorine and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), together representing about 82 percent of all shipments. Soda ash, an alkali product used in glassmaking, water treatment, pulp bleaching, and detergent manufacturing, accounts for only 14 percent of shipments.

SIC 2813 Industrial Gases - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

In the United States, industrial gases touch virtually every facet of life. The three major atmospheric gases—oxygen, nitrogen, and argon—are used in steel production.

SIC 2816 Inorganic Pigments - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

Inorganic pigments serve the purpose of imparting color to various compounds. They also add properties such as rust inhibition, rigidity, and abrasion resistance.

SIC 2819 Industrial Inorganic Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This category includes establishments primarily involved in manufacturing industrial inorganic chemicals not elsewhere classified. A few examples are alum, ammonium compounds (except for fertilizer), industrial bleaches (sodium or calcium hypochlorite), chemical catalysts, hydrazine, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, inorganic sodium compounds, and sulfuric acid.

SIC 2821 Plastic Materials and Resins - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

Synthetic plastic was invented late in the eighteenth century and did not reach widespread use in the United States until the 1900s. Swift advances in chemical and manufacturing technologies during the twentieth century, however, made plastic one of America's most important manufacturing materials.

SIC 2822 Synthetic Rubber (Vulcanizable Elastomers) - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

Production of synthetic rubber on a commercial scale began in the United States during the 1930s, though natural rubber has been used since the early 1800s for multiple applications. The United States assumed an early lead in the development and production of vulcanizable elastomers—a position that it maintained throughout the twentieth century.

SIC 2823 Cellulosic Manmade Fibers - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

Cellulose fibers are made from modified wood pulp that has been dissolved in a liquid and treated with chemicals. The solution is forced through small holes called spinnerets; the extrusion dries into a hard filament.

SIC 2824 Organic Fibers—Noncellulosic - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing noncellulosic, or synthetic, fibers comprise the manmade organic fibers industry. The fibers are created in the form of monofilament, yarn, staple, or tow suitable for further manufacturing on spindles, looms, knitting machines, or other textile processing equipment.

SIC 2833 Medicinal Chemicals and Botanical Products - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This classification covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing bulk organic and inorganic medicinal chemicals and their derivatives, as well as processing—grading, grinding, milling—bulk botanical drugs and herbs. Included in this industry are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing agar and similar products of natural origin, endocrine products, manufacturing or isolating basic vitamins, and isolating active medicinal principals from botanical drugs and herbs.

SIC 2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing, fabricating, or processing drugs in pharmaceutical preparations for human or veterinary use. The greater part of the products of these establishments are finished in the form intended for final consumption, such as ampoules, tablets, capsules, vials, ointments, medicinal powders, solutions, and suspensions.

SIC 2835 In Vitro and in Vivo Diagnostic Substances - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing in vitro ("in glass," such as a test tube) and in vivo ("in the body") diagnostic substances, whether or not packaged for retail sale. These materials are chemical, biological, or radioactive substances used in diagnosing or monitoring the state of human or veterinary health by identifying and measuring normal or abnormal constituents of body fluids or tissues.

SIC 2836 Biological Products, Except Diagnostic Substances - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, establishments classified in this industry shipped products valued at $6.6 billion in 2000, compared to $5.6 billion in 1997.

SIC 2841 Soap and Other Detergents, Except Specialty Cleaners - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

The soap and detergents industry's marketplace in the United States—valued at $15.6 billion in 2001—faced increasing competition during the early 2000s. By the turn of the century, liquid detergents were outpacing powders, capturing nearly three quarters of the overall market by 2003.

SIC 2842 Specialty Cleaning, Polishing, and Sanitation Preparations - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in the late 1990s a total of 728 establishments manufactured products in this category.

SIC 2843 Surface Active Agents, Finishing Agents, Sulfonated Oils, and Assistants - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This industry classification includes establishments primarily involved in making compounds that, when dissolved in water, reduce the water's surface tension. Products include preparations such as wetting agents, emulsifiers, and penetrants.

SIC 2844 Perfumes, Cosmetics, and Other Toilet Preparations - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing perfumes, cosmetics, and other toilet preparations. Manufacturers of shampoos, shaving products, personal deodorants, hair preparations, suntan lotions and oils, talcum powders, toothpastes and powders, mouthwashes, and premoistened towelettes are included.

SIC 2851 Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels, and Allied Products - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This industry category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing paints (in paste and ready-mixed form); varnishes; lacquers; enamels; shellac; dry powder coatings; putties, wood fillers, and sealers; paint and varnish removers; paintbrush cleaners; and allied paint products.

SIC 2861 Gum and Wood Chemicals - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

The gum and wood chemicals industry is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing hardwood and softwood distillation products, natural dyes, tanning materials, and related products. Companies that make synthetic organic tanning materials and synthetic organic dyes are classified in SIC 2869: Industrial Organic Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified and SIC 2865: Cyclic Organic Crudes and Intermediates, and Organic Dyes and Pigments, respectively.

SIC 2865 Cyclic Organic Crudes and Intermediates and Organic Dyes and Pigments - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This industry covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing cyclic organic crudes and intermediates and organic dyes and pigments. Important products of this industry include (1) aromatic chemicals such as benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes, and naphthalene;(2) synthetic organic dyes; and (3) synthetic organic pigments.

SIC 2869 Industrial Organic Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This industry includes companies primarily engaged in the production of organic chemicals used by other manufacturing industries. It encompasses the majority of U.S.

SIC 2873 Nitrogenous Fertilizers - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing nitrogenous fertilizer materials or mixed fertilizers from nitrogenous materials produced in the same establishment.

SIC 2874 Phosphatic Fertilizers - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing phosphatic fertilizer materials, or mixed fertilizers from phosphatic materials produced in the same establishment.

SIC 2875 Fertilizers, Mixing Only - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in mixing fertilizers from already-processed fertilizer materials. In the industry, "fertilizer materials" refers specifically to fertilizers that have no more than one of the three primary plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium).

SIC 2879 Pesticides and Agricultural Chemicals, Not Elsewhere Classified - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

This category includes establishments primarily engaged in the formulation and preparation of ready-to-use agricultural and household pesticides from technical chemicals or concentrates, and the production of concentrates that require further processing before use as agricultural pesticides. This industry also includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing or formulating agricultural chemicals, not elsewhere classified, such as minor or trace elements and soil conditioners.

SIC 2891 Adhesives and Sealants - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

The adhesives and sealants industry includes two chemically similar but functionally different groups of formulated products, adhesive and sealants. Adhesive products are used to create a bond between two different or similar materials.

SIC 2892 Explosives - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

Historically, the explosives industry has been closely aligned with the coal mining industry. According to The Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) the coal industry consumed 67 percent of explosives manufactured in the United States in the late 1990s and remained the largest application for explosives use in the United States.

SIC 2893 Printing Ink - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

During the recession at the beginning of the 1990s, raw material prices stabilized considerably. Purchasing experts in the ink industry found that there were only a few areas where upward price pressure could continue throughout 1990.

SIC 2895 Carbon Black - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

Carbon black is essentially an oil by-product used to strengthen rubber. It is made by shooting a hot mist of oil particles into a flame, a very expensive process that has limited the number of competitors in the industry.

SIC 2899 Chemicals and Chemical Preparations, Not Elsewhere Classified - Description, Market Prospects, Industry History

As the specialty chemical industry entered the 1990s, many corporations implemented organizational restructuring coupled with cost reduction measures. Based on these management decisions, the industry appeared to be in the beginning of a business recovery from the cyclical downturn experienced during the last portion of the 1980s.