SIC 5169 Chemicals and Allied Products, Not Elsewhere Classified

SIC 5169

This industry consists of wholesale distributors of chemicals and allied products not included in another classification. Industry products include acids, industrial and heavy chemicals, dyestuffs, industrial salts, rosin, and turpentine.

Companies primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of agricultural chemicals and pesticides are in SIC 5191: Farm Supplies. Companies involved in the wholesale distribution of drugs are in SIC 5122: Drugs, Drug Proprietaries, and Druggists' Sundries. Companies that distribute pigments, paints, and varnishes are in SIC 5198: Paints, Varnishes, and Supplies.

NAICS CODE(S)

424690

Other Chemical and Allied Products Wholesalers

In 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau reported there were approximately 9,042 wholesale distributors of chemicals and allied products. Combined, they employed some 141,460 workers with an annual payroll of $7.6 billion. Total sales for the industry in 2005 were about $65 billion. The average sales per establishment were about $7.2 million. While sales increased nearly 50 percent in over two years, the number of establishments has decreased by 25 percent.

California and Texas represented the highest concentration with 2,382 establishments controlling about 8.5 percent of the market. Michigan accounted for only 389 establishments, but they generated the highest annual sales, valued at $13.3 billion, which more than doubled sales of $5.8 billion in 2003.

According to D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions, the sector accounted for 4,737 establishments and more than 40 percent of the overall market. The total sales in this sector alone were $31.6 billion. Industrial chemical establishments numbered 1,217 establishments and held over 10 percent of the market.

Analysts subdivide industry products into two categories: industrial gases (except liquefied petroleum) and other chemicals and allied products. During the mid-1990s, wholesalers of industrial gases represented 15.3 percent of the total number of industry firms and accounted for 3.9 percent of the dollar-value of industry sales.

According to the American Chemistry Council, the value of overall domestic shipments of chemicals and allied products climbed to a record $516.2 billion in 2004, an increase of more than 8 percent over the previous year.

Chemical exports have continued to grow and were at $119 billion in 2005, an increase of more than 9 percent from 2004. Meanwhile, imports have also...