USMCA-Exposed Industries by NAICS and SIC Code | SICCODE.com
Identify industries that may be exposed to USMCA trade, sourcing, supply-chain, and rules-of-origin issues using NAICS and SIC codes. This guide covers autos, auto parts, steel, aluminum, lumber, agriculture, food processing, transportation, warehousing, logistics, machinery, chemicals, and cross-border manufacturers.
Important: NAICS/SIC are not tariff codes
NAICS and SIC codes classify the primary business activity of companies and establishments. They help identify industries that may be exposed to trade-policy changes, but they do not determine product-level tariff treatment.
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What does “USMCA-exposed” mean?
A USMCA-exposed industry is an industry that may be affected by trade between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Exposure can come from cross-border suppliers, imported inputs, exports to Canada or Mexico, tariff uncertainty, rules-of-origin reviews, sourcing requirements, transportation activity, or supply-chain changes.
This does not mean every company in the industry is affected. A U.S. machine shop, food manufacturer, warehouse, or auto-parts supplier may have different exposure depending on its customers, suppliers, products, locations, and import/export activity.
NAICS/SIC vs HTS/HS: which code matters?
Business owners often confuse industry classification codes with tariff classification codes. They are related for research purposes, but they do different jobs.
NAICS Codes
NAICS codes classify establishments by their primary business activity. They are useful for industry research, business lists, market sizing, appending, compliance review, and segmentation.
SIC Codes
SIC codes are older industry classification codes still used in many business databases, legacy records, financial datasets, sales systems, and compliance workflows.
HTS/HS Codes
HTS and HS codes classify products for customs, tariffs, and trade statistics. They are the codes most directly tied to import duty treatment.
USMCA-exposed industries by NAICS and SIC code
The code families below are common starting points for identifying industries that may be exposed to USMCA-related trade, sourcing, and supply-chain issues. The examples are not exhaustive. Final code selection depends on the company’s primary business activity.
Autos
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Automobile manufacturing, light-duty vehicles, heavy-duty trucks, truck and bus bodies.
Why it matters: Automotive rules of origin and North American content requirements are central USMCA issues.
Auto Parts
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Motor vehicle parts, engines, electrical equipment, braking systems, seating, and components.
Why it matters: Tier suppliers and component manufacturers may be affected by origin, sourcing, and supply-chain changes.
Steel
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Iron and steel mills, ferroalloys, steel pipe, and steel product manufacturing.
Why it matters: Steel is frequently discussed in trade, tariff, rules-of-origin, and domestic sourcing contexts.
Aluminum
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Alumina, primary aluminum, aluminum sheet, plate, foil, and extruded products.
Why it matters: Aluminum is often reviewed alongside steel in trade and manufacturing supply-chain discussions.
Lumber and Wood Products
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Sawmills, plywood, engineered wood, millwork, wood containers, and wood product manufacturing.
Why it matters: Lumber and wood products are important cross-border sectors, especially for U.S.-Canada trade exposure.
Agriculture
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Crop production, animal production, farm support services, and agribusiness suppliers.
Why it matters: Agriculture is a politically visible and commercially important part of North American trade.
Food Imports and Processing
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Food manufacturing, beverage manufacturing, grocery wholesalers, and farm-product wholesalers.
Why it matters: Food and beverage companies may depend on cross-border agricultural inputs, packaging, distribution, or finished goods.
Transportation
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Trucking, freight forwarding, customs-adjacent logistics, and transportation support services.
Why it matters: Cross-border trade changes can affect freight volumes, route planning, customs workflows, and carrier demand.
Warehousing and Logistics
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Warehousing, storage, packing, crating, logistics coordination, and distribution support.
Why it matters: Nearshoring and supply-chain reconfiguration can increase demand for regional distribution and storage capacity.
Machinery
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Industrial machinery, metalworking machinery, agricultural machinery, and special-purpose equipment.
Why it matters: Machinery companies often sell into manufacturing, automotive, agriculture, and industrial supply chains.
Chemicals
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Basic chemicals, resins, plastics materials, coatings, adhesives, cleaning compounds, and fertilizers.
Why it matters: Chemicals are common industrial inputs used across manufacturing, agriculture, construction, and automotive supply chains.
Cross-Border Manufacturers
NAICSCommon exposed activities: Manufacturers with North American customers, suppliers, components, finished goods, or distribution channels.
Why it matters: This is the broadest starting universe for identifying companies exposed to North American manufacturing and sourcing shifts.
How to identify companies in USMCA-exposed industries
NAICS and SIC codes are a strong starting point, but most real-world research needs additional filtering. For example, not every company in auto parts manufacturing imports components, sells to OEMs, or operates near the U.S.-Mexico or U.S.-Canada border.
Example: auto parts supply chain targeting
A company looking for USMCA-exposed auto-parts suppliers should not rely on one code alone. A practical targeting universe may include manufacturers, parts distributors, tooling companies, metal fabricators, plastic component suppliers, logistics providers, and warehouses serving the automotive supply chain.
Possible starting code families
Core manufacturers
NAICS 3363 and SIC 3714 can help identify motor vehicle parts manufacturers.
Supplier inputs
Steel, aluminum, plastics, chemicals, machinery, and fabricated metal codes may capture upstream suppliers.
Movement and storage
Transportation, warehousing, freight forwarding, and logistics codes can identify companies supporting cross-border trade.
How this information can be used
NAICS and SIC codes can help organize research around companies, suppliers, customers, competitors, and industry segments that may be exposed to North American trade changes.
Market Research
Map industries, estimate company universes, and identify adjacent sectors that may share similar supply-chain exposure.
Supplier Review
Group suppliers by industry code, product category, geography, and business role for sourcing or risk analysis.
Business Data
Use code clusters as a starting point for company lists, appending, segmentation, and internal data cleanup.
Frequently asked questions
Do USMCA changes affect NAICS or SIC codes?
Usually no. NAICS and SIC codes classify what a business primarily does. USMCA changes may affect trade rules, sourcing decisions, tariff exposure, and supply-chain strategy, but they do not automatically change a company’s NAICS or SIC code.
Can a NAICS code determine tariff treatment?
No. Tariff treatment is generally tied to product-level classification, such as HTS or HS codes, and to customs rules such as rules of origin. NAICS and SIC are useful for identifying industries and companies, not for determining duties on a shipment.
What industries are most commonly associated with USMCA exposure?
Commonly monitored areas include autos, auto parts, steel, aluminum, lumber, agriculture, food processing, transportation, warehousing, logistics, machinery, chemicals, and manufacturers with North American suppliers or customers.
Should I use one NAICS code or a cluster of codes?
For most research use cases, a cluster is better. A single NAICS code may miss suppliers, distributors, warehouses, transportation companies, or adjacent manufacturers that are part of the same trade-exposed supply chain.
Sources and classification notes
This guide is for industry identification, market research, data targeting, and classification context. It is not legal, customs, tax, tariff, or trade-compliance advice.