Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) Codes
Classification According to Transportation Characteristics
As indicated in the Basic Features of the
SCTG link, each product classification in
the Standard Classification Transportable Goods (SCTG) is based on
building blocks from the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding
System (HS) product classifications, or on product classifications
from the Standard Classification of Goods (the SCG, Canada's
extension of the HS).
The HS and SCG provide thousands of categories
from which to select for the purpose of developing the SCTG. To
create a product classification that would be useful for
transportation analysis (i.e., a code with between 500 and 600
detailed product classifications), only a fraction of the product
classifications and product categories in these two codes could be
used without being combined with other product classifications.
To winnow down the number of HS and SCG product
classifications, the SCTG development team employed several criteria.
The most important of these was importance to transportation
analysis.
Specifically, HS and SCG building blocks were
organized to form detailed product classifications that would have
signficance based on the product shipment characteristics of weight,
value, and shipment distance. The SCTG development team used a number
of different U.S. and Canadian freight data sources to assess the
significance of SCTG product categories.
Other important criteria used to create the SCTG
include the following:
Adherence to the organization of the HS
hierarchy
When constructing the SCTG product codes, the code
development team tried as much as possible to keep HS and SCG
building block codes from the same HS/SCG chapters together with one
another (e.g., all codes in HS chapter 56 kept together, all codes in
HS chapter 57 kept together, etc.) In areas where this goal clashed
with other classification criteria, the SCTG development team reached a consensus decision regarding reorganization. As a result, reviewers will note that, for example, motor vehicle engines
have been separated from other engines in HS Chapter 84 and placed
with motor vehicle parts and accessories from HS Chapter 87. A
similar re-organization has taken place for waste and scrap
materials, which have been separated from their HS chapters of origin
and collected together at the end of the SCTG.
Comparability with industry classification
codes
As much as possible, SCTG codes were designed to
be comparable with categories in the Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) and North American Industrial Classification
System (NAICS) industry classification codes. SCTG two-digit codes
were specifically designed to be comparable with the two-digit levels
of the SIC and the NAICS. SCTG five-digit codes were also created
with an eye to comparability with industries of origin, but
comparability of products to industries of origin was NOT an
over-riding concern. As reviewers may note, a number of product
categories (especially residual categories) contain goods produced by
more than one industry.
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