SIC 3364 Nonferrous Die-Castings Except Aluminum

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 3364

This classification is comprised of establishments primarily involved in manufacturing die-castings from nonferrous metals and alloys other than aluminum. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing die-castings from aluminum and aluminum alloys are classified in SIC 3363: Aluminum Die-Castings.

NAICS CODE(S)

331522

Nonferrous (except Aluminum) Die-Castings

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 278 establishments operated in this category in the late 1990s. Industry-wide employment in 2000 totaled 16,084 workers receiving a payroll of more than $507 million. Within this workforce, 12,923 of these employees worked in production, putting in more than 26 million hours to earn wages of more than $354 million. Overall shipments for the industry were valued at over $2.1 billion in 2000.

After 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau combined the category of nonferrous die-casting (except aluminum) with two others: copper foundries (except die-castings) and other nonferrous foundries (except die-casting). In this broader category, called "Foundries, Not Aluminum," industry-wide employment totaled 22,154 in 2005 (down from 25,726 in 2002) receiving a payroll of more than $869 million. Within this workforce, 17,436 employees worked in production in 2005, putting in more than 37 million hours to earn wages of over $582 million. Overall shipments for this larger category exceeded $3.7 billion in 2005, reflecting an increase over the nearly $3.4 billion in 2002.

According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, zinc die-castings represented the second largest category of die-castings, after aluminum, in the late 1990s. Magnesium was another important non-aluminum die-casting metal.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

Die-casting techniques, which rely on injecting molten metal into steel molds under pressure, were developed around the turn of the twentieth century. Industrial development and needs spawned by World War I and World War II created increased use of die-castings.

In 1946, shipments of die-castings reached nearly 460 million pounds. Of this total, 376 million pounds represented die-castings fabricated with zinc. Zinc remained the top metal for die-casters until it was surpassed by aluminum in 1967. The 1970s and 1980s brought additional challenges to zinc die-casters when...