A transformer is used to reduce or increase the voltage, or electromotive force, of electricity traveling through a wire. It accomplishes this by transferring electric energy from one coil or winding to another coil through electromagnetic induction.
This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing switchgear and switchboard apparatus. Important products of this industry include power switches, circuit breakers, power switching equipment, and similar switchgear for general industrial application; also, switchboards and cubicles, control and metering panels, fuses and fuse mountings, and similar switchboard apparatus and supplies.
This classification comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing power generators, motor generator sets, and electric motors, excluding engine-starting motors. Also covered in this classification are establishments primarily involved in manufacturing railway motors and control equipment, as well as motors, generators, and control equipment for gasoline, electric, and oil-electric buses and trucks.
This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing carbon, graphite, and metal-graphite brushes and brush stock; carbon or graphite electrodes for thermal and electrolyticuses; carbon and graphite fibers; and other carbon, graphite, and metal-graphite products.
This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electronic relays and industrial controls used for starting, regulating, stopping, and protecting circuits and electric motors. Mechanical switches and relays are classified elsewhere.
This category covers companies that primarily make industrial and commercial electric apparatus, such as fixed and variable capacitors and rectifiers for industrial applications.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in the late 1990s a total of 84 establishments operated in this industry.
Shipment of refrigerators represented the largest share of the appliance industry and refrigerator-freezers were the most popular major appliance in the world. There are an estimated 60 million units manufactured each year and some 500 million refrigerator-freezers in use worldwide.
Although mechanical washing contraptions existed before the start of the twentieth century, only since the 1950s has gas and electric-powered laundry equipment achieved widespread use. By the early 1990s, over 70 percent of all U.S.
Vacuums remove 80 percent of soil from carpet, making them essential for carpet care. Vacuums are more effective if they have a rotating brush, beater bar, and powerful suction capabilities.
This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing household appliances, not elsewhere classified, such as water heaters, dishwashers, food waste disposal units, and household sewing machines. Major product groups include water heaters, dishwashers, food disposers, trash compactors, floor waxers, and sewing machines.
The electric lamp bulbs and tubes industry in the late 1990s was characterized by intensive competition but was also aided by a strong U.S. economy that lead to increased housing starts and a long-awaited resurgence in commercial office building construction.
The current-carrying wiring devices industry is comprised of establishments principally engaged in manufacturing current-carrying wiring devices, primarily interior electrical components used to connect equipment to a power source.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 180 firms operated 235 establishments in this category for some or all of 2001.
The residential electric lighting fixtures industry encompasses manufacturers that produce a variety of equipment and components for home use. Popular offerings include chandeliers, desk and floor lamps, glass and metal lamp shades, yard lights, and wall-mounted lighting fixtures.
The commercial lighting fixture industry is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electric lighting fixtures for commercial, industrial, and institutional customers. Popular industry offerings include hotel and restaurant chandeliers, desk and floor lamps for offices, luminous ceiling panels, and industrial fluorescent lighting fixtures.
The world has come a long way since the first driver of a horseless carriage attached two kerosene lamps to his vehicle to light his way at night. Aftermarket electric lighting systems were available for vehicles as early as the turn of the nineteenth century, and acetylene headlamps started appearing on cars around 1905.
The two major groupings in this industry are outdoor lighting equipment and electric and nonelectric equipment not elsewhere classified. The majority of products in this category are handheld, portable lighting equipment, such as flashlights and lanterns.
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electronic audio and video equipment for use at home or in automobiles, such as televisions, video recorders and players, radio receivers and amplifiers, phonographs, cassette tape players, and compact disc (CD) players. This industry also includes companies that manufacture microphones, speakers, and public address systems.
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing phonograph records and prerecorded audio tapes and disks. Establishments primarily engaged in the design, development, and production of prepackaged computer software are classified in Computer Programming, Data Processing, and Other Computer Related Services; and those reproducing prerecorded video tape cassettes and disks are classified in the Motion Picture industries.
While this miscellaneous communications equipment industry includes a number of visible and important products, such as railroad signaling devices and various traffic control equipment, the revenue accrued in this industry originates primarily from the sale of security and smoke/fire alarm systems (about 63 percent). Traffic control equipment makes up about 25 percent, followed by intercommunications systems at a distant 4 percent.
The number of companies engaged in this industry in the late 1990s totaled 158, down by 15 percent from the number of firms in the early 1990s. Yet these establishments generated just under $3.8 billion in shipments in the late 1990s, a 19 percent increase over the value of shipments in the early 1990s.
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, sometimes referred to as printed wiring boards.
This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing semiconductors and related solid-state devices. Important products of this industry are semiconductor diodes and stacks, including rectifiers, integrated microcircuits (semiconductor networks), transistors, solar cells, and light sensing and emitting semiconductor (solid-state) devices.
The value of shipments in the electronic capacitors industry in 2001 was $1.9 billion, down from $2.8 billion in 2000 and $2.0 billion in 1999. There were about 99 establishments in the industry in 2001, down from 128 in 1997.
The value of shipments in the electronic resistors industry in 2001 was $712.9 million, down from $981.7 million in 2000 and $970.6 million in 1999. The number of establishments and the percentage with more than 20 employees was stable throughout the 1980s.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, shipments in the electronic coil, transformer and other inductor industry grew from $1.4 billion in 1999 to $1.65 billion in 2000.
The health of the electronic connectors industry is tied to that of electronic equipment and other finished-product (e.g., automobile) manufacturers. A cutback in military spending and substantial reductions in the price of personal computers (PCs) has reduced the number of connector manufacturers through closures and mergers.
The Electronic Components, Not Elsewhere Classified industry segment is comprised of firms primarily engaged in manufacturing a multitude of miscellaneous electronic devices. Examples of more popular industry offerings include automobile antennas, oscillators, mechanical rectifiers, solenoids, quartz crystals, and electronic switches.
This category is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing storage batteries, including alkaline cell storage batteries, rechargeable batteries, lead acid storage batteries, nickel cadmium storage batteries, and other types of storage batteries.
This industry covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing primary batteries, dry or wet.
This classification covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electrical equipment for internal combustion engines. Important products of this industry include armatures, starting motors, alternators, and generators for automobiles and aircraft, and ignition apparatus for internal combustion engines, including spark plugs, magnetos, coils, and distributors.
The magnetic and optical recording media industry manufactures blank audio and video recording tape, computer tape, and both rigid and floppy computer disks, utilizing either magnetic or optical recording technology. To an extent, the magnetic and optical methods of recording data, images, and sound are competing technologies: the magnetic method offers the user quick retrieval of recorded material, while the optical method benefits those with large storage requirements.
This classification comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing electrical machinery, equipment, and supplies, not elsewhere classified, including high-energy particle acceleration systems and equipment, electronic simulators, appliance and extension cords, bells and chimes, and insect traps.