SIC 5153 Grain and Field Beans

SIC 5153

This industry classification is comprised of establishments engaged in buying and/or marketing grain, dry beans, soybeans, and other inedible beans. Also included are country grain elevators, terminal elevators, and other merchants involved in marketing grain. Establishments primarily involved in the wholesale distribution of field and garden seeds are in SIC 5191: Farm Supplies.

NAICS CODE(S)

422510

Grain and Field Bean Wholesalers

A total of 6,401 establishments were classified in this industry in 2003. Their combined sales were estimated at $62 million. They employed almost 54,000 workers and posted an annual payroll of $1.8 million. Average number of workers per establishment totaled about nine, and average sales per establishment was approximately $17 million.

Leading states in 2003, as measured by number of establishments and value of sales, were Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Two other states with high sales' volume, despite relatively small numbers of establishments, were Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Michigan.

Worldwide, the grain trade peaked in 1979 at 240 million metric tons. During the 1980s and early 1990s, however, both U.S. grain buyers and...