Industry Classification
When you begin industry research, it helps to identify the official classification codes for your industry. The two most common systems are:
- NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) - The standard used in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico
- SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) - An older system that is still used in some resources
You can look up a code directly through the NAICS website, or find it indirectly by searching for a company in a library database. Most databases list the codes connected to each company and industry. Once you know the code, you can use it to search across multiple databases and government sources.
Industry codes are used to group companies by the type of products or services 
they provide. They are especially useful when searching databases for industry reports, benchmarking data, or competitor lists.
How NAICS codes are structured
- First 2 digits = Sector
- 3rd digit = Subsector
- 4th digit = Industry Group
- 5th digit = Industry
- 6th digit = National Industry
Example:
722513 = Limited-Service Restaurants (fast food chains like McDonalds or Starbucks)
"NAICS Code Format" by TadgStirkland401 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 
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United States and North American Classification Schemes
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North American Industry Classification System - NAICS.The NAICS is the most widely used classification by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments. (Print copy is available in the Ready Reference. HF 1042 .A55 2007).
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Standard Industrial Classification - SIC.TheSIC Manual was last revised in 1987; it provides the government-assigned (four-digit) numerical codes for identifying industries, businesses, and products. With the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the SIC is officially replaced by NAICS. However, some industry publications still provide data based on the SIC (Print copy is available in the Ready Reference. HF 1042 .A55 1987).
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Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS)Data on the U.S. imports and exports of merchandise is based on the HTS. It provides a detailed tariff classification system covering more than 10,000 product categories.
HTS is available in the Library: CDROM 714; U.S. Documents ITC1.10: -
Numerical Manufactured and Mineral ProductsThis extends the NAICS codes to the product level and is used for reporting production statistics in the Economic Census and the Current Industrial Reports.
International Classification Schemes
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Harmonized System Codes (HS Code) Commodity Classification .A six-digit classification system that replaces the Standard International Trade Classification - SITC for international trade statistics.
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International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC).The ISIC is the standard industrial classification of all economic activities. It is a (four-digit) classification system for statistics on economic activity (e.g. agriculture, manufacturing, retail and wholesale trade.)
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NACEThe general industrial classification of economic activities within the European Union. NACE is based on a five to six-digit classification system and corresponds with ISIC at the two-digit level.
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Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)This is a five-digit classification system for products in external trade data and is used in reports from the United Nations and the OECD.
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Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB)A new classification system developed by FTSE Group and Dow Jones Indexes. It is used for classifying public companies for investment analysis.