
Computer Storage Device Manufacturing
Description
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing computer storage devices that allow the storage and retrieval of data from a phase change, magnetic, optical, or magnetic/optical media. Examples of products made by these establishments are computer disk drives, USB flash drives, and tape storage and backup units.
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). |
| 334 | Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing subsector group establishments that manufacture computers, computer peripherals, communications equipment, and similar electronic products, and establishments that manufacture components for such products. The Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing industries are combined in the hierarchy of NAICS because of their economic significance to the economies of all three North American countries. For industries in this subsector, the manufacturing processes are fundamentally different from the manufacturing processes of other machinery and equipment. The design and use of integrated circuits and the application of highly specialized miniaturization technologies are common elements in the production technologies of the Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing subsector. |
| 3341 | Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing 4-digit industry group | Industries in the Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing subsector group establishments that manufacture computers, computer peripherals, communications equipment, and similar electronic products, and establishments that manufacture components for such products. The Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing industries are combined in the hierarchy of NAICS because of their economic significance to the economies of all three North American countries. For industries in this subsector, the manufacturing processes are fundamentally different from the manufacturing processes of other machinery and equipment. The design and use of integrated circuits and the application of highly specialized miniaturization technologies are common elements in the production technologies of the Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing subsector. |
| 33411 | Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing 5-digit NAICS industry | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing and/or assembling electronic computers, such as mainframes, personal computers, workstations, laptops, and computer servers; and computer peripheral equipment, such as storage devices, printers, monitors, and input/output devices and terminals. Computers can be analog, digital, or hybrid. Digital computers, the most common type, are devices that do all of the following: (1) store the processing program or programs and the data immediately necessary for the execution of the program; (2) can be freely programmed in accordance with the requirements of the user; (3) perform arithmetical computations specified by the user; and (4) execute, without human intervention, a processing program that requires the computer to modify its execution by logical decision during the processing run. Analog computers are capable of simulating mathematical models and comprise at least analog, control, and programming elements. |
| 334112 | Computer Storage Device Manufacturing 6-digit U.S. detail | This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing computer storage devices that allow the storage and retrieval of data from a phase change, magnetic, optical, or magnetic/optical media. Examples of products made by these establishments are computer disk drives, USB flash drives, and tape storage and backup units. |
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Classification References
- 01Manufacturing blank magnetic and optical recording media, such as flash memory cards--are classified in Industry 334610, Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media;
- 02Manufacturing semiconductor storage devices, such as memory chips--are classified in U.S. Industry 334413, Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing;
- 03Manufacturing drive controller cards, internal or external to the storage device--are classified in U.S. Industry 334418, Printed Circuit Assembly (Electronic Assembly) Manufacturing; and
- 04Manufacturing other parts, such as casings, stampings, cable sets, and switches, for computer storage devices--are classified in the Manufacturing sector based on their associated production processes.
Index Items
CD-ROM drives manufacturing
Direct access storage devices manufacturing
Disk drives, computer, manufacturing
DVD (digital video disc) drives, computer peripheral equipment, manufacturing
Flexible (i.e., floppy) magnetic disk drives manufacturing
Floppy disk drives manufacturing
Hard disk drives, computer peripheral equipment, manufacturing
Magnetic/optical combination storage units for computers manufacturing
Optical disk drives manufacturing
Storage devices, computer, manufacturing
Tape storage units (e.g., drive backups), computer peripheral equipment, manufacturing
USB flash drives (e.g., thumbdrives, jumpdrives) manufacturing
Item.com Tools
External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 334112.
National Association of Semiconductor Electronics Manufacturers
Industry trade association focused on the semiconductor supply chain essential for memory storage devices.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation Database
Government page providing detailed job description, duties, and work conditions for semiconductor manufacturing occupations.
Electronics for Impacts
Resource providing industry data, environmental sustainability reports, and market analysis for electronics manufacturing sectors.