SIC 3398 Metal Heat Treating

SIC 3398

This category covers establishments primarily engaged in heat treating of metal for the trade.

NAICS CODE(S)

332811

Metal Heat Treating

A variety of forms of heat treating are used to make metals more durable and to improve their mechanical performance for manufacturing. Heat treating processes include brazing, annealing, hardening and tempering, normalizing, nitriding, and carburizing. In each of these processes, controlled heat is generated from an electrical or gas-based source and applied to metals, making heat treatment an energy-intensive industry. Heat treated metals are required in components produced for aerospace, industrial machinery, heavy equipment for construction and agriculture, motor vehicles, and general manufacturing.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 800 establishments operate in this category. Industry employment in 2000 totaled 24,752 workers receiving a payroll of almost $890 million. Of these employees, 18,933 worked in production, putting in almost 38 million hours to earn wages of more than $587 million. Overall shipments for the industry were valued at more than $3.9 billion in 2005.

After 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau, for the purpose of employment record keeping, combined this industry with two others to create a larger industry category called Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities. Employment in this larger industry in 2005 totaled 126,607 workers, down from 138,241 in 2002. Of these employees, 97,262 worked in production, putting in more than 205 million hours to earn wages in excess of $3.2 billion.

In 1998, Cleveland-based industry leader LTV Corp., which generated sales of almost $4.3 billion, joined with Steel Dynamics Inc. from Butler, Indiana, and Weirton Steel Corp. of Weirton, West Virginia, to create a World Wide Web-based dynamic portal trading system called Metal Exchange, through which to sell steel. Weirton's existing online sales site had generated about $50 million per year during the prior two years. Then, in late 1999, General Motors (GM) announced it would conduct all $87 billion worth of its steel purchasing online by the end of 2001. Online commerce promised increased efficiencies, reducing purchase order processing from $100 to $10 by 2001. GM chose to conduct its business through Metal Site, an outgrowth of Metal Exchange, with added equity partners Bethlehem Steel Corp. of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and...

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