Industry Codes

Business Librarian

Many government and business publications use Codes to index companies and economic data. You may need some of these codes to do your research in a variety of resources.

ISIC: International Standard Classification of All Economic Activities
From the United Nations: Intended to be a standard classification of all productive economic activities. Its main aim is to provide a set of activity categories that can be used when analyzing statistics according to such activities. The detailed groups and classes of the ISIC are best suited for classifying the kind of economic activity of establishments. The ISIC Rev. 3 is a classification by activity. The activity carried out by a statistical unit is the type of production in which it engages.

For European industries, use: NACE codes.
If you need to convert NAICS to NACE (or vice versa), see: Eurostats Index to Corresponding Tables
For Australia and New Zealand, use: ANZSIC.
For Japan, use: JSIC.
For the United Nations, use: ISIC or ISCO.

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
From the U.S. International Trade Commission. Designed to enable importers, custom brokers, Customs officers and other interested persons to determine both (1) the classifications of and the rates of duty applicable to imported articles and, (2) the requirements for reporting statistical data with respect to such imports.
A Layman’s Guide To HS and HTS Codes If you’re going to import or export, you absolutely must understand the Harmonized System (HS) and Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). If you don’t comprehend and properly apply both, you can face legal penalties which, if you’re not prepared, can sink your business. You can also have your goods seized, defeating the very purpose of your business.