STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION (SIC) CODES

Industry codes developed by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and published in the SIC Manual (1987 edition) defining industries according to the composition and structure of the entire economy. Each firm, based on its principal product or service, is assigned a 4-digit SIC code. The first two digits (range 01-99) indicate the major industrial category, and the last two digits classify the company further. For example, major category codes 20-39 identify manufacturing facilities; code 28 within this range is the major category code for chemical and allied products manufacturing, and the 4-digit SIC code 2869 is the classification for industrial organic chemicals, not elsewhere classified (N.E.C.). Environmental regulations are often applied to facilities within certain SIC codes based on pollution potential. Also, such industry coding is also applicable in assessing commercial water use by industry sector based upon either employment levels or output. This form of analysis is used in deriving industry water use based on GED (gallons per employee per day) water use coefficients. The following listing presents the 4-digit code ranges of the SIC coding by major industry classifications and industries covered. Also see Gallons per Employee per Day (GED).