SIC 2895 Carbon Black

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT.
• ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE.
• BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT.
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• WORKFORCE.
• RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2895

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing carbon black (channel and furnace black). Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing bone and lamp black are classified in SIC 2816: Inorganic Pigments.

NAICS CODE(S)

325182

Carbon Black Manufacturing

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

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. Carbon black is a general name for a variety of trade name products such as acetylene black, attrited black, channel black, flame black, furnace black, lamp black, and thermal black. Carbon black production requires large amounts of heat. In addition to its main use in tires, the powdery reinforcing agent is used to make inks and other everyday products.

Through the mid-2000s, U.S. carbon black shipments held steady at about $1 billion annually ($1.19 billion in 2005, compared to $1.06 billion in 2002). The vast majority of carbon black produced in the United States in the mid-2000s was consumed by rubber and tire manufacturing companies.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Carbon black is largely a homogenous product with many trade names. It is essentially an oil by-product used to make tires, inks, and other products. The principal economic industries responsible for the purchase of carbon black were domestic manufacturing industries, which purchased nearly 95 percent of the industry's shipments. A 2005 ranking of purchased carbon black output found these industries responsible for carbon black usage: tires and tire treads, 70 percent; belts, hoses, and other automotive products, 10 percent; industrial rubber products, 9 percent; plastics, 5 percent; ink, 4 percent; and miscellaneous, including paint and paper, 2 percent.

In the mid-2000s, 25 establishments employed some 1,600 workers in the production of carbon black (1,593 in 2005, compared to 1,665 in 2002). The U.S. carbon black industry was centered primarily in southern states, especially Texas and Louisiana.

BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT

The Cabot family was involved in carbon black production from the industry's outset. In 1882, Godfrey Cabot built a carbon black plant in Buffalo Mills, Pennsylvania. At the time, carbon black was made by impinging a gas flame against steel. After World War I, it was discovered that carbon black had properties for reinforcing rubber products. It was this innovation that fueled the industry's growth.

As early as 1864, carbon black was used as a printing ink, and it was still employed in this sector in the mid-2000s. The most revolutionary application was developed for the rubber industry, which discovered that carbon black made tires tougher. In 1920, the...