Paper Mills
Description
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing paper from pulp. These establishments may manufacture or purchase pulp. In addition, the establishments may convert the paper they make. The activity of making paper classifies an establishment into this industry regardless of the output.
Hierarchy
| Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | 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). |
| 322 | Paper Manufacturing 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Paper Manufacturing subsector make pulp, paper, or converted paper products. The manufacturing of these products is grouped together because they constitute a series of vertically connected processes. More than one is often carried out in a single establishment. There are essentially three activities. The manufacturing of pulp involves separating the cellulose fibers from other impurities in wood or used paper. The manufacturing of paper involves matting these fibers into a sheet. The manufacturing of converted paper products involves converting paper and other materials by various cutting and shaping techniques and includes coating and laminating activities. The Paper Manufacturing subsector is subdivided into two industry groups, the first for the manufacturing of pulp and paper and the second for the manufacturing of converted paper products. Paper making is treated as the core activity of the subsector. Therefore, any establishment that makes paper (including paperboard), either alone or in combination with pulp manufacturing or paper converting, is classified as a paper or paperboard mill. Establishments that make pulp without making paper are classified as pulp mills. Pulp mills, paper mills, and paperboard mills comprise the first industry group. Establishments that make products from purchased paper and other materials make up the second industry group, Converted Paper Product Manufacturing. This general activity is then subdivided based, for the most part, on process distinctions. Paperboard container manufacturing uses corrugating, cutting, and shaping machinery to form paperboard into containers. Paper bag and coated and treated paper manufacturing establishments cut and coat paper and foil. Stationery product manufacturing establishments make a variety of paper products used for writing, filing, and similar applications. Other converted paper product manufacturing includes, in particular, the conversion of sanitary paper stock into such things as tissue paper and disposable diapers. An important process used in the Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing industry is lamination, often combined with coating. Lamination and coating make a composite material with improved properties of strength, impermeability, and so on. The laminated materials may be paper, metal foil, or plastics film. While paper is often one of the components, it is not always. Lamination of plastics film to plastics film is classified in Subsector 326, Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing, because establishments that do this often first make the film. The same situation holds with respect to bags. The manufacturing of bags from plastics only, whether or not laminated, is classified in Subsector 326, Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing. Excluded from this subsector are photosensitive papers. These papers are chemically treated and are classified in Industry 32599, All Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing. |
| 3221 | Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing pulp, paper, or paperboard. |
| 32212 | Paper Mills 5-digit NAICS industry | See industry description for 322120. |
| 322120 | Paper Mills 6-digit U.S. detail | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing paper from pulp. These establishments may manufacture or purchase pulp. In addition, the establishments may convert the paper they make. The activity of making paper classifies an establishment into this industry regardless of the output. |
Need a supply chain stack that maps to this industry?
Use this NAICS classification as the starting point, then connect it to Item workflows across inventory, warehousing, order management, fulfillment, and transportation.
Classification References
- 01Manufacturing pulp without manufacturing paper--are classified in Industry 322110, Pulp Mills;
- 02Manufacturing paperboard--are classified in Industry 322130, Paperboard Mills;
- 03Converting paper without manufacturing paper--are classified in Industry Group 3222, Converted Paper Product Manufacturing; and
- 04Manufacturing photographic sensitized paper from purchased paper--are classified in U.S. Industry 325992, Photographic Film, Paper, Plate, Chemical, and Copy Toner Manufacturing.
Index Items
Absorbent paper stock manufacturing
Asphalt paper made in paper mills
Bond paper made in paper mills
Book paper, coated, made in paper mills
Bristols paper stock manufacturing
Building paper stock manufacturing
Cigarette paper made in paper mills
Construction paper, school and art, made in paper mills
Cotton fiber paper stock manufacturing
Diapers, disposable, made in paper mills
Facial tissues made in paper mills
Felts, asphalt, made in paper mills
Glassine wrapping paper made in paper mills
Groundwood paper products (e.g., publication and printing paper, tablet stock, wallpaper base) made in newsprint mills
Groundwood paper, coated, laminated, or treated in paper mills
Groundwood paper, coated, made in paper mills
Groundwood paper, newsprint, made in paper mills
Kraft paper stock manufacturing
Looseleaf fillers and paper made in paper mills
Napkins, table, made in paper mills
Newsprint mills
Newsprint paper, manufacturing
Office paper (e.g., computer printer, photocopy, plain paper) made in paper mills
Paper manufacturing
Paper mills
Paper mills, newsprint
Paper mills, uncoated groundwood
Paper products made in paper mills
Paper stock for conversion into paper products (e.g., bag and sack stock, envelope stock, tissue stock, wallpaper stock) manufacturing
Paper towels made in paper mills
Paper, asphalt, made in paper mills
Paper, coated, laminated or treated, made in paper mills
Paper, newsprint and uncoated groundwood, manufacturing
Pulp and newsprint combined manufacturing
Pulp and paper combined manufacturing
Pulp mills and groundwood paper, uncoated and untreated, manufacturing
Pulp mills producing newsprint paper
Pulp mills producing paper
Sanitary napkins and tampons made in paper mills
Sanitary paper products made in paper mills
Sanitary paper stock manufacturing
Sanitary products made in paper mills
Saturated felts made in paper mills
Sheathing paper made in paper mills
Tablets (e.g., memo, note, writing) made in paper mills
Tar paper, building and roofing, made in paper mills
Tissue paper stock manufacturing
Toilet paper made in paper mills
Towels, paper, made in paper mills
Uncoated groundwood paper mills
Writing paper made in paper mills
How Item Can Help
Item.com's Warehouse Management System optimizes raw pulp and finished paper storage layouts to maximize space while managing hazardous material safety protocols. It ensures real-time inventory visibility which reduces shrinkage and improves order picking accuracy for high-volume B2B clients.
The Order Management System automates complex cross-docking scenarios for retail chains requiring rapid delivery of specific paper grades. By integrating with sales channels, it streamlines fulfillment processes and reduces lead times from days to hours.
Predictive analytics tools analyze historical production data to forecast raw material needs and identify maintenance windows before critical machine failures occur. This proactive approach minimizes unscheduled downtime in high-speed converting lines and optimizes energy consumption patterns.
Item.com Tools
External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 322120.
American Wood Council
Provides resources and advocacy for the wood products industry including paper mills.
US EPA - Paper and Paperboard Manufacturing
Lists the environmental protection requirements and regulatory guidelines for paper mills in the United States.
National Association of Paper Manufacturers
A leading trade association dedicated to advancing the paper industry through education and research.
