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Chemical Manufacturing Industry Guide, NAICS Code 325

Test Tubes: Photo courtesy of Roanoke Co. VA picture Scope of This Guide:

Chemical companies transform raw materials from the natural environment into products that are useful in industrial and consumer markets.  Most chemical manufacturing is devoted to high-volume commodity chemicals categorized as basic organic and inorganic chemicals, plastics and fertilizer materials.  They include petrochemicals, industrial gases, dyes and pigments, alkalis, chlorine, alcohols, and hydrocarbon derivatives.

Specialty chemical manufacturers use products of basic chemical suppliers to manufacture small volumes of chemical products for specific applications and customers, such as paints and coatings, pesticides, adhesives and sealants, catalysts, and plastics additives. 

Chemical manufacturing is capital intensive.  Plants for commodity chemical manufacturing produce high-volumes of product while efficiently using raw materials, energy and labor resources. Specialty manufacturers typically devote significant resources on research and development, marketing, and customer service.

Chief customers of chemical manufacturers include manufacturing, automobile, agriculture, and housing industry sectors.

It is common for some chemical processing to occur in other industry sectors and subsectors, such as Mining (NAICS 21), Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing (324), Primary Metal Manufacturing (331), Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing (312), and many others.

Industry Definitions: Description by NAICS Sector / Sub-Sector

CODE NAICS Sector (WHAT is NAICS?)
325 Chemical Manufacturing
3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing
3252 Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing
3253 Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing
3254 Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing [link to related industry guide]
3255 Paint, Coating, and Adhesive Manufacturing
3256 Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
3259 Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing

Databases for Industry Research

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage

  • Industry surveys
  • Bond ratings
  • Company profiles and corporation records
  • Stock, bond and fund research
Plunkett Research Online (Industry Information)
  • Industry sector analysis and research
  • Industry trends and statistics
  • Market research and trends
  • Company profiles
Reuters Research On-Demand
  • Real-time full-text investment research
  • Reports cover companies and industries
  • Over 750 contributing firms
ValueLine
  • Aggregate data and analysis on industries
  • Reports, articles, and company highlights

ABI/Inform (via ProQuest)

  • Indexes over 1000 business periodicals
  • Trade journals, business magazines, academic journals and other news sources
  • Most articles full text

IBISWorld

  • Over 700 full-text industry reports
  • Over 700 US industry risk rating reports
  • Information on over 8000 Publicly Traded Companies
  • Hundreds of economic and demographic profiles

For additional database choices, see:

  1. Database Descriptions
  2. Database Comparison Chart

Selected U.S./World Industry Data & Company Sites

U. S. Data

Annual Energy Outlook / Energy Information Administration

  • Energy prices and trends

Foreign Trade Statistics / U.S. Census Bureau

  • Data by end-use, NAICS code, country, etc.
  • Monthly, year to date, and annual compilations
  • Imports and exports, to and from the U.S.

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization / Federal Reserve

  • Production = changes in real output
  • Capacity = changes in potential output
  • Covers manufacturing (including Chemical sector), mining, and electrical and gas utilities
  • Annual and monthly figures

National Petrolchemical & Refiners Association (NPRA)

  • See "Publications/Statistics" for U.S. data, such as:
    • Refining capacity
    • Production
    • Sales
    • Trade data

Occupational Employment Statistics / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

  • See links for "National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates"

Producer Price Indexes / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

  • Index measures average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers.

Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations / U.S. Census Bureau

  • Aggregate statistics on the financial position of U.S. corporations
  • Quarterly data from 1996 to date.
  • NAICS 2-digit sectors and 3-digit subsectors
  • Survey of manufacturers with assets over $250,000, mining and trade companies with assets over $50 million
  • Iincome and retained earnings
  • Balance sheets
  • Financial and operating ratios

World Data

CEFIC - European Chemical Industry Council

  • See "Statistics" for European industry data:
    • "Facts and Figures"
    • "Chemical Trends Report"
  • Some associations listed under "Chemistry Sectors" provide sector-level data

International Trade Statistics Yearbook
United Nations
Business Library, Reference: HF91.U47301

  • Import/export values and quantities by country for commodities (v. 1)
  • Import/export values by commodity for countries (v. 2)
  • Commodities are reported by SITC instead of than NAICS

International Trade Statistics (World Trade Organization)

  • Quick profiles of members and other nations
  • Time series data (1980 - to date), for international trade in merchandise and commercial services

SourceOECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)

  • International economic policy and statistics
  • International trade data
  • "STAN Database for Industry Structure"
  • "Structural Statistics for Industry & Services"
    • Listed under "Statistical Annuals"
  • Economic indicators

Selected Companies

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

Ashland Inc.

BASF AG

ExxonMobil Chemical Company

The Dow Chemical Company

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company

Huntsman Corporation

Lyondell Chemical Company

PPG Industries, Inc.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies

Resources for Identifying Companies in the Industry

Hoover’s Online

  • Proprietary company overviews
  • Industry breakdowns and explanations
  • Competitor listings
  • Financial synopses

Lexis/Nexis Corporate Affiliations
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A219

  • U.S. corporate directory
  • Holding company directory

Mergent Online

  • Information on 11,000 U.S. public companies and 17,000 non-U.S. Public companies
  • Detailed, standardized financial statements
  • Searchable by company name, industry codes, revenue levels, and other characteristics
  • Comparative analysis among companies
  • Access to SEC reports

Ward’s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
Business Library, Reference: HG4057.A56

  • Listings organized by NAICS code
  • Ranks public and private companies by revenues/sales

Library Collections: Selected Reference Titles & Call Number Ranges

Selected Reference Titles

For additional materials, contact the Schreyer Business Library.

Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios*
Business Library, Reference: HF5681.R25T68

  • Ratio analysis
  • Financial statistics
  • Industrial statistics

The CRB Commodity Yearbook / Knight-Ridder Financial, Commodity Research Bureau
Life Sciences Library, Reference: HF1041.C5601

  • Industrial, financial, and agricultural commodities

Encyclopedia of Global Industries
Business Library, Reference: HC102.E333

  • Encyclopedia of commercial industries

Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios*
Business Library, Reference: HF5681.R2515

  • Ratio analyses
  • Line of business reporting
  • Industry statistics

RMA Annual Statement Studies*
Business Library, Reference: HF5667.R701

  • Financial statements
  • Business enterprises
  • Cash flow measures

* Resources marked with an asterik (*) report industry norms for common financial ratios, often used to compare one company's performance against the industry.

Call # Ranges

Chemical industries
3rd Floor Paterno:  HD9650 through HD9663

Chemistry science
Physics and Mathematical Sciences Library: QD1 through QD999

Chemical technology
Physics and Mathematical Sciences Library: TP1 through TP999


Trade Associations: Selected Industry Associations Web Sites

American Chemical Society

The Chlorine Institute Inc.

Cefic: European Chemical Industry Council

International Council of Chemical Associations

NPRA - National Petrochemical & Refiners Association

The Society of the Plastics Industry

Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association

Career Information: Selected Sources for Employment Information

American Chemical Society

Vault Online Career Library (Currently, Vault Guides are facing problems opening in Adobe Reader 8.x. Please see here for using FREE Adobe Digital Editions to access these guides)

  1. Vault provides full-text career and industry guides
  2. Includes company profiles, occupation descriptions, and career-related articles

Career Guide to Industries (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Business Library, Reference: HF5382.5.U5 C3162

Occupational Outlook Handbook  (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
CAT record for print copies
Business Library, Reference: HD8051.A623

Career Resources Page

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Contact

3rd Floor, Paterno Library
University Park, PA 16802
Reference Desk:
814-865-6369

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