Steel Wire Drawing
Description
Establishments in this sector specialize in drawing wire from purchased steel billets or slabs to produce wire with specific dimensions and mechanical properties essential for various manufacturing applications. The core process involves pulling heated or cold steel through progressively smaller dies to reduce the cross-sectional area while increasing tensile strength. Typical business activities include raw material procurement, heating operations, drawing through calibrated dies, cooling, sizing, and subsequent coating or polishing to meet customer specifications. Operators often own small facilities that function as job shops capable of handling a wide variety of customer orders, ranging from architectural wire to industrial fasteners, rather than producing a single standardized product in large volumes. These businesses frequently rely on external suppliers for auxiliary services such as annealing or plating. The scale is generally modest, with individual establishments employing fewer than a few dozen workers. Geographically, many are domestic-focused, serving local construction, automotive, and agricultural markets. While some larger firms may manage multiple locations, the majority operate as single-plant entities prioritizing flexibility and quick turnaround times. The output contributes significantly to the broader supply chain of steel products, enabling further processing into cables, reinforcement bars, and mechanical components across diverse sectors of the economy.
Hierarchy
| Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Manufacturing 2-digit sector | The Sector as a Whole The Manufacturing sector comprises establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products. The assembling of component parts of manufactured products is considered manufacturing, except in cases where the activity is appropriately classified in Sector 23, Construction. Establishments in the Manufacturing sector are often described as plants, factories, or mills and characteristically use power-driven machines and material handling equipment. However, establishments that transform materials or substances into new products by hand or in the worker's home and those engaged in selling to the general public products made on the same premises from which they are sold, such as bakeries, candy stores, and custom tailors, may also be included in this sector. Manufacturing establishments may process materials or may contract with other establishments to process their materials for them. Both types of establishments are included in manufacturing. Selected industries in the Manufacturing sector are comprised solely of establishments that process materials for other establishments on a contract or fee basis. Beyond these dedicated contract manufacturing industries, establishments that process materials for other establishments are generally classified in the Manufacturing industry of the processed materials. The materials, substances, or components transformed by manufacturing establishments are raw materials that are products of agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, or quarrying as well as products of other manufacturing establishments. The materials used may be purchased directly from producers, obtained through customary trade channels, or secured without recourse to the market by transferring the product from one establishment to another, under the same ownership. The new product of a manufacturing establishment may be finished in the sense that it is ready for utilization or consumption, or it may be semi-finished to become an input for an establishment engaged in further manufacturing. For example, the product of the alumina refinery is the input used in the primary production of aluminum; primary aluminum is the input to an aluminum wire drawing plant; and aluminum wire is the input for a fabricated wire product manufacturing establishment. The subsectors in the Manufacturing sector generally reflect distinct production processes related to material inputs, production equipment, and employee skills. In the machinery area, where assembling is a key activity, parts and accessories for manufactured products are classified in the industry of the finished manufactured item when they are made for separate sale. For example, an attachment for a piece of metalworking machinery would be classified with metalworking machinery. However, component inputs from other manufacturing establishments are classified based on the production function of the component manufacturer. For example, electronic components are classified in Subsector 334, Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing, and stampings are classified in Subsector 332, Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing. Manufacturing establishments often perform one or more activities that are classified outside the Manufacturing sector of NAICS. For instance, almost all manufacturing has some captive research and development or administrative operations, such as accounting, payroll, or management. These captive services are treated the same as captive manufacturing activities. When the services are provided by separate establishments, they are classified in the NAICS sector where such services are primary, not in manufacturing. The boundaries of manufacturing and the other sectors of the classification system can be somewhat blurry. The establishments in the Manufacturing sector are engaged in the transformation of materials into new products. Their output is a new product. However, the definition of what constitutes a new product can be somewhat subjective. As clarification, the following activities are considered manufacturing in NAICS: <table width=100%><tr><td width=10%> </td><td><dl><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Milk bottling and pasteurizing;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Water bottling and processing;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Fresh fish packaging (oyster<br/> shucking, fish filleting);</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Apparel jobbing (assigning<br/> materials to contract<br/> factories or shops for<br/> fabrication or other contract<br/> operations) as well as<br/> contracting on materials<br/> owned by others;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Printing and related activities;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Ready-mix concrete production;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Leather converting;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Grinding lenses to<br/> prescription;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Wood preserving;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Lapidary work for the trade;</dt></dl></td><td width=10%> </td><td><dl><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Electroplating, plating, metal<br/> heat treating, and<br/> polishing for the trade;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Fabricating signs and<br/> advertising displays;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Rebuilding or remanufacturing<br/> machinery (i.e., automotive<br/> parts);</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Making manufactured homes<br/> (i.e., mobile homes) or<br/> prefabricated buildings,<br/> whether or not assembling/<br/> erecting at the customers'<br/> site;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Ship repair and renovation;</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Machine shops; and</dt><dt style='padding-left: 10px; text-indent: -10px;'>Tire retreading.</dt></dl></td><td width=10%> </td></tr></table> Conversely, there are activities that are sometimes considered manufacturing, but which for NAICS are classified in another sector (i.e., not classified as manufacturing). They include: 1. Logging, classified in Sector 11, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, is considered a harvesting operation; 2. Beneficiating ores and other minerals, classified in Sector 21, Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, is considered part of the activity of mining; 3. Constructing structures, assembling prefabricated buildings, and fabricating at the construction site by contractors are classified in Sector 23, Construction; 4. Breaking bulk and reselling in smaller lots, including packaging, repackaging, or bottling products, such as liquors or chemicals; assembling and selling computers on a custom basis; sorting and reselling scrap; mixing and selling paints to customer order; and cutting metals to customer order for resale are classified in Sector 42, Wholesale Trade, or Sector 44-45, Retail Trade; and 5. Publishing and the combined activity of publishing and printing, classified in Sector 51, Information, transform information into a product for which the value to the consumer lies in the information content, not in the format in which it is distributed (i.e., the book or software compact disc). |
| 331 | Primary Metal Manufacturing 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector smelt and/or refine ferrous and nonferrous metals from ore, pig, or scrap, using electrometallurgical and other process metallurgical techniques. Establishments in this subsector also manufacture metal alloys and superalloys by introducing other chemical elements to pure metals. The output of smelting and refining, usually in ingot form, is used in rolling, drawing, and extruding operations to make sheet, strip, bar, rod, or wire, and in molten form to make castings and other basic metal products. Primary manufacturing of ferrous and nonferrous metals begins with ore or concentrate as the primary input. Establishments manufacturing primary metals from ore and/or concentrate remain classified in the primary smelting, primary refining, or iron and steel mill industries regardless of the form of their output. Establishments primarily engaged in secondary smelting and/or secondary refining recover ferrous and nonferrous metals from scrap and/or dross. The output of the secondary smelting and/or secondary refining industries is limited to shapes such as ingot or billet that will be further processed. Recovery of metals from scrap often occurs in establishments that are primarily engaged in activities, such as rolling, drawing, extruding, or similar processes. Excluded from the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector are establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing ferrous and nonferrous forgings (except ferrous forgings made in steel mills) and stampings. Although forging, stamping, and casting are all methods used to make metal shapes, forging and stamping do not use molten metals and are included in Subsector 332, Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing. Establishments primarily engaged in operating coke ovens are classified in Industry 32419, Other Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing. |
| 3312 | Steel Product Manufacturing from Purchased Steel 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing iron and steel tube and pipe, drawing steel wire, and rolling or drawing shapes from purchased iron or steel. |
| 33122 | Rolling and Drawing of Purchased Steel 5-digit NAICS industry | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in rolling and/or drawing steel shapes, such as plate, sheet, strip, rod, and bar, from purchased steel. |
| 331222 | Steel Wire Drawing 6-digit U.S. detail | Establishments in this sector specialize in drawing wire from purchased steel billets or slabs to produce wire with specific dimensions and mechanical properties essential for various manufacturing applications. The core process involves pulling heated or cold steel through progressively smaller dies to reduce the cross-sectional area while increasing tensile strength. Typical business activities include raw material procurement, heating operations, drawing through calibrated dies, cooling, sizing, and subsequent coating or polishing to meet customer specifications. Operators often own small facilities that function as job shops capable of handling a wide variety of customer orders, ranging from architectural wire to industrial fasteners, rather than producing a single standardized product in large volumes. These businesses frequently rely on external suppliers for auxiliary services such as annealing or plating. The scale is generally modest, with individual establishments employing fewer than a few dozen workers. Geographically, many are domestic-focused, serving local construction, automotive, and agricultural markets. While some larger firms may manage multiple locations, the majority operate as single-plant entities prioritizing flexibility and quick turnaround times. The output contributes significantly to the broader supply chain of steel products, enabling further processing into cables, reinforcement bars, and mechanical components across diverse sectors of the economy. |
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Classification References
- 01Making steel and drawing steel wire--are classified in Industry 331110, Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing; and
- 02Manufacturing wire products, such as nails, spikes, and paper clips, from purchased steel wire--are classified in Industry 33261, Spring and Wire Product Manufacturing.
Index Items
Barbed and twisted wire made in wire drawing plants
Baskets, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Brads, iron or steel, wire or cut, made in wire drawing plants
Cable, iron or steel, insulated or armored, made in wire drawing plants
Chain link fencing, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Drawing iron or steel wire from purchased iron or steel
Drawing iron or steel wire from purchased iron or steel and fabricating wire products
Fence gates, posts, and fittings, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Form ties made in wire drawing plants
Horseshoe nails, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Mesh, wire, made in wire drawing mills
Nails, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Paper clips, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Spikes, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Staples, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Tacks, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Tie wires made in wire drawing plants
Welded iron or steel wire fabric made in wire drawing plants
Wire cages, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Wire carts (e.g., grocery, household, industrial), iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Wire cloth, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Wire garment hangers, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Wire products, iron or steel, made in wire drawing plants
Wire, iron or steel (e.g., armored, bare, insulated), made in wire drawing plants
How Item Can Help
Identifies bottlenecks in production scheduling and predicts demand spikes for specific wire gauge sizes to improve raw material procurement and logistics efficiency.
Item.com Tools
External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 331222.
International Bar Association
A major global industry association representing wire manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors.
United States Department of Labor - Steel Wire Drawing
An official government resource providing occupational information, safety standards, and wage data for the profession.
Steel Wire Industry Directory
A comprehensive international directory featuring thousands of companies producing copper, aluminum, and steel wires.
