Unlaminated Plastics Film and Sheet (except Packaging) Manufacturing
Description
Establishments within the unlaminated plastics film and sheet manufacturing sector focus on transforming raw plastic resins into flexible sheeting or thin films suitable for various commercial and industrial applications beyond packaging. The core operations involve mixing resin formulations, heating them into a molten state, and then extruding or casting them through specialized rollers to create consistent, uniform layers of material. Following production, facilities typically engage in drying, cooling, slitting, and rewinding to meet specific gauge and width requirements for downstream users. These businesses often specialize in producing films for applications such as industrial linings, electrical insulation, or construction materials, distinguishing them from competitors who focus on laminated structures or packaging-specific films. Operators range from large-scale integrated manufacturing plants that control the entire value chain to smaller contract manufacturers serving niche markets. The scale of production is significant, with many facilities capable of generating millions of pounds of product annually, yet the sector maintains diversity through varying polymer types like polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC. Ultimately, this industry plays a critical role in supply chains by providing essential raw materials that facilitate fabrication in construction, automotive, and electronics sectors, ensuring the efficient conversion of plastic resources into versatile functional components.
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). |
| 326 | Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing subsector make goods by processing plastics materials and raw rubber. The core technology employed by establishments in this subsector is that of plastics or rubber product production. Plastics and rubber are combined in the same subsector because plastics are increasingly being used as a substitute for rubber; however, the subsector is generally restricted to the production of products made of just one material, either solely plastics or rubber. Many manufacturing activities use plastics or rubber, for example the manufacture of footwear or furniture. Typically, the production process of these products involves more than one material. In these cases, technologies that allow disparate materials to be formed and combined are of central importance in describing the manufacturing activity. In NAICS, such activities (footwear and furniture manufacturing) are not classified in the Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing subsector because the core technologies for these activities are diverse and involve multiple materials. Within the Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing subsector, a distinction is made between plastics and rubber products at the industry group level, although it is not a rigid distinction, as can be seen from the definition of Industry 32622, Rubber and Plastics Hoses and Belting Manufacturing. In the case of hoses and belting, plastics are used as a substitute for rubber, and the distinction in materials is not useful as a basis for establishment classification. In keeping with the core technology focus of plastics, lamination of plastics film to plastics film as well as the production of bags from plastics only is classified in this subsector. Lamination and bag production involving plastics and materials other than plastics are classified in Subsector 322, Paper Manufacturing. |
| 3261 | Plastics Product Manufacturing 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in processing new or spent (i.e., recycled) plastics resins into intermediate or final products, using such processes as compression molding; extrusion molding; injection molding; blow molding; and casting. Within most of these industries, the production process is such that a wide variety of products can be made. |
| 32611 | Plastics Packaging Materials and Unlaminated Film and Sheet Manufacturing 5-digit NAICS industry | This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in (1) converting plastics resins into unsupported plastics film and sheet and/or (2) forming, coating, or laminating plastics film and sheet into plastics bags. |
| 326113 | Unlaminated Plastics Film and Sheet (except Packaging) Manufacturing 6-digit U.S. detail | Establishments within the unlaminated plastics film and sheet manufacturing sector focus on transforming raw plastic resins into flexible sheeting or thin films suitable for various commercial and industrial applications beyond packaging. The core operations involve mixing resin formulations, heating them into a molten state, and then extruding or casting them through specialized rollers to create consistent, uniform layers of material. Following production, facilities typically engage in drying, cooling, slitting, and rewinding to meet specific gauge and width requirements for downstream users. These businesses often specialize in producing films for applications such as industrial linings, electrical insulation, or construction materials, distinguishing them from competitors who focus on laminated structures or packaging-specific films. Operators range from large-scale integrated manufacturing plants that control the entire value chain to smaller contract manufacturers serving niche markets. The scale of production is significant, with many facilities capable of generating millions of pounds of product annually, yet the sector maintains diversity through varying polymer types like polyethylene, polypropylene, and PVC. Ultimately, this industry plays a critical role in supply chains by providing essential raw materials that facilitate fabrication in construction, automotive, and electronics sectors, ensuring the efficient conversion of plastic resources into versatile functional components. |
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Classification References
- 01Converting plastics resins into plastics packaging film and unlaminated packaging sheet--are classified in U.S. Industry 326112, Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (including Laminated) Manufacturing;
- 02Laminating plastics sheet (except for packaging)--are classified in Industry 326130, Laminated Plastics Plate, Sheet (except Packaging), and Shape Manufacturing;
- 03Laminating or coating combinations of plastics, foils, and paper (except plastics film to plastics film) film and sheet, packaging or nonpackaging--are classified in Industry 322220, Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing; and
- 04Manufacturing plastics bags--are classified in U.S. Industry 326111, Plastics Bag and Pouch Manufacturing.
Index Items
Acrylic film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
Cellulosic plastics film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
Film, plastics (except packaging), manufacturing
Photographic, micrographic, and X-ray plastics, sheet, and film (except sensitized), manufacturing
Plastics film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
Polyester film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
Polyethylene film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
Polypropylene film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
Polyvinyl film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
Sheet, plastics, unlaminated (except packaging), manufacturing
Vinyl and vinyl copolymer film and unlaminated sheet (except packaging) manufacturing
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External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 326113.
Plastics Industry Association
The leading trade association for the plastics industry providing resources and information on plastic manufacturing and processing.
EPA Industrial Hazardous Waste Management
A US government page offering guidance for manufacturers handling hazardous waste, including plastics production.
Manufacturers Database of the American Chemical Council
A comprehensive directory listing thousands of chemical and plastic manufacturers across the United States.
