Industries involving welding

Welding-related industries are a pillar of U.S. defense, infrastructure construction, and economic development, with far-reaching influence. The combined output of all welding-related industries accounts for one-third of the U.S. GDP. In 2000, the total annual revenue of industries utilizing welding technology reached $3.1 trillion. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conservatively estimates that these industries employ 500,000 people, and the fact that related companies not included in the statistics further highlights the underestimation of welding's contribution. Welding-related industries include those with welding equipment or consumables as core products, as well as those that use welding as a key processing technology. Statistics on these industries are currently incomplete due to the transition from the North American Industrial Classification (NAICS) to the former Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). NAICS uses three-digit codes to identify industries and four-digit codes to identify sub-industries. While classification statistics can be achieved through enterprise output and welder data, the lack of classification for automated welders and missing data on non-arc welding methods such as electron beam welding leads to errors in the analysis of the scale of welding technology application. Currently, welding technology is used in a wide variety of industries, each with its own characteristics: welding in mining and oil and gas extraction (NAICS 211.212), ferrous metal smelting and rolling (NAICS 331), and electrical equipment manufacturing (NAICS 335) often does not follow specific standards and is used for basic mining scenarios, equipment maintenance, and large and thin plate welding, respectively; steel structure welding and pipeline installation in large-scale construction (NAICS 234), boiler and pressure vessel manufacturing in general equipment manufacturing (NAICS 332), various equipment welding in special equipment manufacturing (NAICS 333) according to American Welding Society and enterprise standards, mass production and special welding in the transportation equipment manufacturing field (automotive NAICS 3361, rail transportation NAICS 3365, shipbuilding NAICS 3366), and various equipment repair welding in the maintenance industry (NAICS 811) all require strict adherence to relevant standards. It is worth noting that the field of welded sculpture, which is not listed separately by NAICS, has significant public significance. The 600-foot-high St. Louis Arch is a prime example of a stainless steel welded sculpture built by Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel for the Jefferson National Development History Society.