Manufacturing SIC Codes List for 2026

What SIC Codes Cover Manufacturing?

Manufacturing is SIC Division D. The manufacturing section covers major groups 20 through 39, according to the OSHA SIC Manual. In plain English, that range starts with food plants and ends with miscellaneous manufacturers such as jewelry, toys, signs, and musical instruments.

SIC still shows up because many commercial datasets were built around it years ago. The federal government moved most statistical programs to NAICS in 1997, a change documented by the Census Bureau NAICS history page. But if you buy a manufacturer list, check a public company filing, pull older safety records, or segment industrial accounts in a CRM, you'll still run into SIC.

The SEC's SIC list is especially useful for public company research because filers are grouped by SIC code. The BLS QCEW industry titles and the Census NAICS tools are better for current employment, wage, and establishment data because modern datasets are usually NAICS-based.

Manufacturing SIC Major Groups 20-39

The table below covers the 20 manufacturing SIC major groups in Division D. These are 2-digit groupings. They work well when you need broad market sizing, but they're too broad for serious sales routing. For example, SIC 34 includes fabricated metal products, but a sheet metal enclosure shop and a valve manufacturer have very different buyers, quoting cycles, tolerances, and content needs.

Source: OSHA SIC Manual, Division D: Manufacturing

3-Digit Manufacturing SIC Codes

Three-digit SIC groups give you a cleaner read on what a plant actually makes. This matters in manufacturing lead generation. A CNC shop, injection molder, industrial bakery, electronic component plant, and medical device contract manufacturer may all sit inside manufacturing, but the landing page, search terms, proof points, and buying committee are different.

The following list is built from the manufacturing group structure in the OSHA SIC Manual and cross-checked against the SEC SIC code list. Some 4-digit codes under these groups are narrow enough to target directly, especially in metals, plastics, machinery, electronics, transportation equipment, and medical instruments.

Sources: OSHA SIC Manual, SEC SIC code list

SIC to NAICS Crosswalk Notes for Manufacturers

SIC and NAICS do not map one-to-one. NAICS was created to group establishments by production process, while SIC was built under an older industrial structure. The 2022 NAICS Manual puts manufacturing in NAICS sectors 31-33, and the Census Bureau NAICS program is the official place to search current codes.

This is where bad prospect data gets expensive. A single old SIC record can split into several NAICS codes, especially in plastics, metalworking, electronics, and medical equipment. Before you build a campaign around a code, verify the company's real production activity. Look for plant equipment, materials processed, certifications, customer industries, and example parts.

Sources: SEC SIC list, Census NAICS tools, 2022 NAICS Manual

Why NAICS 31-33 matters when you start with SIC

The NAICS code for manufacturing sits inside sectors 31, 32, and 33. The 2022 NAICS Manual describes manufacturing establishments as plants, factories, or mills that use power-driven machines and material handling equipment to make new products. It also covers some hand assembly work when the activity is treated as product manufacturing. That definition is useful when you're deciding whether a company is actually considered manufacturing or simply distributing finished goods.

SIC Division D and the manufacturing sector of NAICS are close cousins, but they were built for different eras. SIC splits the old industrial economy into 20 major manufacturing industries. NAICS organizes subsectors in the manufacturing sector around production activity, including food manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, textile products, apparel, wood products, paper, printing, petroleum, chemical manufacturing, plastics, nonmetallic minerals, primary metals, fabricated metals, machinery, computer and electronic product manufacturing, electrical equipment, transportation equipment, furniture, and miscellaneous product manufacturing.

For marketers, this matters because one SIC code can point to several modern NAICS options. A company under SIC 308 for plastics products could map into multiple NAICS product manufacturing categories depending on whether it makes packaging film, molded components, pipe, foam, or custom parts. SIC 354 for metalworking machinery may lead you into machine tool manufacturing, cutting tool manufacturing, welding equipment, or special die and fixture work. If you are scoring accounts, use SIC as the older label and NAICS as the current research layer.

A good workflow is simple. First, take the SIC code from your legacy account list. Second, use Census NAICS search to find the closest current NAICS code. Third, confirm the company's website language against the code. A real manufacturer usually describes a process, material, equipment base, product family, inspection standard, or production environment. If the page only says sourcing, importing, warehousing, or distribution, it may not belong in a product manufacturing campaign.

This also affects data pulls. Federal employment and wage datasets from BLS usually report current industries by NAICS, not SIC. Company lists and older credit files may still show SIC. If you merge both systems without a crosswalk, your totals can drift. For example, two-digit NAICS sectors 31-33 cover manufacturing, while SIC uses codes 20-39. Those ranges look tidy, but the detailed code structure underneath them is not identical.

The wording in the NAICS Manual is worth reading because it helps define the boundaries of manufacturing. The manufacturing sector comprises establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials into new products. Establishments in the manufacturing sector are often described as plants, factories, or mills, and manufacturing establishments may use production equipment, power-driven machines, and material handling systems. The manual also recognizes captive manufacturing activities and other manufacturing processes that may happen inside a larger company, not just at a stand-alone contract manufacturer.

How to Use SIC Codes in Manufacturing Sales and Marketing

SIC codes are a starting filter, not a complete account strategy. They help you remove obvious wrong-fit companies and group accounts by production type. They do not tell you who is expanding, who is quoting outsourced work, who has a new quality problem, or who is actively searching for a supplier. That part comes from buyer intent, search data, trade publication activity, distributor signals, and direct website behavior.

Practical targeting notes by manufacturing category

Food, beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers often care about sanitation, validation, traceability, and regulatory documentation. Fabricated metal, machinery, and transportation equipment companies care about tolerances, capacity, machine envelope, material expertise, certifications, and on-time delivery. Electronics and instrument manufacturers often need clean assembly, test capability, traceable components, and quality system proof. SIC codes can tell you which doorway to open. They do not write the sales message for you.

If you are building SEO pages, the code tells you how to group the market. A page for metal fabrication should not use the same examples as a page for medical device contract manufacturing or industrial machinery. Your proof needs to match the plant floor. Buyers notice when it doesn't.

Common SIC Code Mistakes

The biggest mistake is treating SIC as current ground truth. It is not. The Census Bureau states that NAICS replaced SIC for statistical programs beginning in 1997. If you are doing current market sizing, use NAICS first. If you are cleaning old account data, reviewing public company industry groups, or working with legacy databases, SIC still has value.

Another mistake is assuming a headquarters code equals plant activity. A holding company, distributor, or sales office can carry a manufacturing-related code even when the location you are targeting is not a production site. For sales routing, verify location-level activity. Check whether the address has a plant, warehouse, lab, cleanroom, machine shop, fabrication bay, or just an office.

Finally, be careful with imported trade data. Trade datasets often use Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes, not SIC or NAICS. The U.S. International Trade Commission DataWeb is useful for import and export analysis, but you will need a separate mapping step if you want to align trade categories with manufacturing industry codes.

Manufacturing SIC Code FAQ

Cite This Manufacturing SIC Code Resource

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