What is an industry?

- The manufacturing or technically productive enterprises in a particular field, country, region, or

economy viewed collectively, or one of these individually.

- A single industry is often named after its principal product; for example, the auto industry.

- Any general business activity or commercial enterprise that can be isolated from others, such as the
tourist industry or the entertainment industry.

I. Levels of Industry

- Primary (first): Primary industries are those that extract or produce raw materials from which useful
items can be made. Extraction of raw materials includes mining activities, forestry, and fishing.
Agriculture is also considered a primary industry as it produces “raw materials” that require further
processing for human use.

 Major businesses in this sector include agriculture, fishing, forestry and all mining and
quarrying industries
 The primary sector of industry is also called extraction. It generally involves changing natural
resources into primary products. Most products from this sector are considered raw materials
for other industries. Major businesses in this sector include agriculture, fishing, forestry and all
mining and quarrying industries

 Primary industry is a larger sector in developing countries; for instance, animal husbandry is more
common in Africa than in Japan.

- Secondary (second): Secondary industries are those that change raw materials into usable products
through processing and manufacturing. Bakeries that make flour into bread and factories that change
metals and plastics into vehicles are examples of secondary industries. The term “value added” is
sometimes applied to processed and manufactured items since the change from a raw material into a
usable product has added value to the item.

 The secondary sector (manufacturing) produces finished, usable products. This sector of
industry generally takes the output of the primary sector and manufactures finished goods or
where they are suitable for use by other businesses, for export, or sale to domestic consumers.

 Aerospace manufacturing Engineering

Automobile manufacturing Energy industries
Brewing industry Metalworking
Chemical industry Steel production
Clothing industry Software engineering
Electronics Telecommunications Industry
Tobacco industry
 This sector is often divided into light industry and heavy industry.

- Tertiary (third): Tertiary industries are those that provide essential services and support to allow
other levels of industry to function. Often simply called service industries, this level includes
transportation, finance, utilities, education, retail, housing, medical, and other services. Since primary
and secondary levels of industry cannot function without these services, they are sometimes referred to
as “spin-off” industries. Much of the city of Thompson, for example, is made up of tertiary or service
industries to support the primary industry of mining

 The tertiary sector of industry is also known as the service sector or the service industry. It
involves the provision of services to businesses as well as final consumers. Services may involve
the transport, distribution and sale of goods from producer to a consumer, or may involve the
provision of a service, such as in pest control or entertainment.

 News media Business services

Leisure industry/hotels Restaurants
Consulting Local government services
Healthcare/hospitals Central government services
Waste disposal Education
Estate agents Law and order

 Goods may be transformed in the process of providing a service, as happens in the restaurant
industry or in equipment repair. However, the focus is on people interacting with people and
serving the customer rather than transforming physical goods

II. Industrial Classification (ISIC and NAICS codes)

- You can search many of the data by International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) and/or
NAICS code to get industry information.

- ISIC is published by UN

- NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes were adopted in 1997 to replace the old
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.

- Many research resources, such as databases, utilize NAICS and/or SIC codes for searching purposes.

- For statistical purposes, industries are categorized generally according a uniform classification code
such as Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).