SIC 2439 Structural Members, Not Elsewhere Classified

Contenidos

• NAICS CODE(S).
• CURRENT CONDITIONS.
• INDUSTRY LEADERS.
• WORK FORCE.
• AMERICA AND THE WORLD.
• FURTHER READING.

SIC 2439

This classification covers establishments primarily engaged in producing laminated or fabricated trusses, arches, and other structural members of lumber. Establishments primarily engaged in fabrication on the site of construction are classified in Division C, Construction. Establishments primarily engaged in producing prefabricated wood buildings, sections, and panels are classified in SIC 2452: Prefabricated Wood Buildings and components.

NAICS CODE(S)

321912

Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing

321214

Truss Manufacturing

321213

Engineered Wood Member (except Truss) Manufacturing

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, engineered wood member manufacturers operating in the United States shipped $1.8 billion worth of goods, compared to $1.7 billion in 2000. U.S. manufacturers of wood trusses shipped $4.2 billion worth of goods, compared to $4.3 billion in 2000. Sales for both industry segments had grown steadily throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, boosted first by U.S. economic prosperity and then by brisk housing starts, the result of historically low interest rates.

In the early 2000s, most of this industry's products were used in new construction, with a fairly even distribution between residential and nonresidential markets. While residential construction increased throughout the early 2000s, nonresidential construction grew at a sluggish rate due to weak economic conditions in the United States and to the extensive building done in the late 1990s.

The industry faced the same supply constraints as did other wood-working industries. This was largely the result of environmental pressures, particularly the efforts to save the endangered spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest and to save tropical rain forests abroad.

Traditionally, mills in this industry cut joists, beams, and other structural members from large logs, but during the 1990s and 2000s, engineered wood products became increasingly popular. These innovative building materials could be made from small young trees instead of the large old trees where endangered owls lived. Moreover, these new products were often stronger than a product sawed from a single piece of lumber.

One engineered product, laminated veneer lumber, was made by using adhesive, heat, and pressure to glue together numerous layers of high-grade veneer. It was used both for...