SIC 6553 Cemetery Subdividers and Developers

SIC 6553

This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in subdividing real property into cemetery lots, and developing it for resale on their own account.

NAICS CODE(S)

812220

Cemeteries and Crematories

According to industry estimates, there are between 75,000 and 100,000 cemeteries in the United States. These vary in size from small plots in churchyards to huge national military cemeteries. Cemeteries may be run on a profit or not-for-profit basis. Traditional cemeteries have upright monuments, usually made of stone, and may also include private mausoleums for above-ground interment. Memorial parks, in contrast, have bronze memorials placed level to the ground rather than tombstones and often have fountains, sculptures, or memorial architecture.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 6,000 cemetery and crematorium firms operated in the United States. The industry employed approximately 42,000 people and the sale of burial plots generated total revenues of $3.3 billion.

Natural preserve cemeteries protect and restore land, and offer natural burials also known as "green" burials. Memorial Ecosystems, Inc., established their first nature preserve cemetery, Ramsey Creek Preserve, in South Carolina in 1996. Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve of De Funiak Springs, Florida, also offers green burials. These establishments allow only biodegradable caskets made of wood or cardboard. Because they do not allow embalming, burials must occur between 24 and 48 hours after death unless the body is stored in a hospital morgue or funeral home cooler.

The four largest publicly traded firms, known as "consolidators," have operations in many states and several countries and generated over a third of all revenues in the mid-2000s, while the remainder of the market was fragmented among numerous regional and local firms. The large consolidators benefited from economies of scale that resulted from owning several funeral homes and cemeteries in a single area, including a central embalming location, a limousine motor pool, and a team of personnel to serve facilities in a given region. The companies also built some funeral homes in or near cemeteries, which offers customers greater convenience.

The largest of the consolidators is Service Corporation International (SCI), which in 2005 had 400 cemeteries and 1,200 funeral homes, with total revenues of $1.86 billion.

The second largest, Alderwoods Group Inc., was...