SIC 3699 Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies, Not Elsewhere Classified
SIC 3699
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.
333319
Other Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing
333618
Other Engine Equipment Manufacturing
334119
Other Computer Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing
Industries classified in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual as including products "not elsewhere classified" produce miscellaneous products that share a broadly defined similarity but rarely are produced by the same type of manufacturers. These "not elsewhere" classifications (usually abbreviated as NEC) are created to retain the integrity or homogeneity of other industry classifications, which otherwise would become muddled by the inclusion of products that are instead consigned to NEC industries. Consequently, NEC industries frequently include distinctly separate types of manufacturers, competing in entirely different markets, and manufacturing a diverse assortment of products.
SIC 3699: Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies, Not Elsewhere Classified includes various types of amplifiers, such as magnetic and pulse amplifiers, maser amplifiers, DC amplifiers, and differential and facsimile amplifiers, but excludes audio or video amplifiers. This category also includes various types of particle accelerators (also known as atom smashers), automatic garage door openers, scientific electronic equipment, electronic kits to be assembled by the purchaser, and consumer electronic equipment.
This industry also manufactures electronic teaching machines, teaching aids, trainers, and simulators. There is a category for laser systems and equipment, except communication, which includes laser designator/ranging equipment, laser instrumentation equipment such as laboratory alignment devices and surveying equipment, industrial laser equipment, and medical laser equipment. The electrical products, NEC category includes a host of diverse products such as electric gongs, bells, and chimes; electric Christmas tree lighting sets; electric insect killers; electric fence chargers; and electric outboard motors for boats.
The apparatus wire and cordage product category includes appliance cords manufactured primarily from purchased insulated wire for various household appliances, including electric irons, grills, and waffle irons. And finally, the ultrasonic equipment category, except for medical and dental use, includes ultrasonic equipment manufactured for industrial applications, such as ultrasonic cleaners, drills, welders, and solderers.
Although this classification includes a multitude of diverse products, the industry's core businesses—those products that generate the greatest amount of revenue for manufacturers—are the primary products from the three largest product categories. Accordingly, the miscellaneous electrical machinery, equipment, and supplies industry essentially includes manufacturers of consumer electronic products, particle accelerators, flight simulators, and laser equipment.
The majority of the products that constitute the industry's core businesses were added to its classification in 1987, when SIC 3699: Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies, Not Elsewhere Classified was reclassified. Added to the industry's classification were particle accelerators, flight simulators, laser equipment, and ultrasonic equipment, as well as other less significant products. The effect of this reclassification on the industry's revenue total was enormous.
Nonetheless, as with most manufacturing segments, this industry was hit hard after the U.S. economy took a nosedive following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The weakening of the U.S. dollar, combined with few product orders and shipments, was only beginning to recover toward the middle of the 2000s, and the recovery was very slow—not more than 2 percent annually in most segments.
The miscellaneous electrical equipment and supplies industry became a much more densely populated industry following its reclassification in 1987. Prior to that year, approximately 700 companies in the United States were involved in manufacturing products ascribed to the industry. Once reclassified, the industry's roster nearly doubled to include 1,324 manufacturers and 1,379 individual manufacturing establishments, more than twice as many individual, separate manufacturing establishments as were in operation the previous year. From 1987 into the 1990s, however, the number of manufacturers in the industry declined, falling to 1,185 in 1990 and 912 by 1993.
During the 1980s the industry's sales volume rose steadily before and after the reclassification, but realized a greater rate of growth before being reclassified. From 1982 to 1986 aggregate revenue increased nearly 30 percent, more than twice as much as the percentage increase from 1987 to 1990. In 1990 the industry's sales volume reached $5.8 billion, an increase of $792.0 million from the total recorded in 1987. By 1994, however, the value of industry shipments had fallen to $5.1 billion.
In the mid-1990s individual manufacturing establishments in the industry averaged $6.2 million in annual revenue, about 65 percent of the sales volume generated by the typical manufacturing establishment in industries overall. Although generating less revenue than the industry-wide average, electrical equipment and supply manufacturing plants had an investment per establishment in 1994 that was only 48 percent of that found in other industries. This highlighted the labor-intensive nature of the work and the relative ease of entry into the market for potential manufacturers. Despite this, the number of establishments in the industry dropped from more than 1,300 in 1987 to about 800 in 1994, and it continued to drop into the new century, as did employment.
Each product segment composing the miscellaneous electrical machinery and equipment industry possesses a history distinct from the other products grouped into this classification. For the most part, the manufacturers of these disparate product categories have little in common with each other and rarely compete in the same market. Manufacturers of flight simulators, for...
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