Industry Analysis

A clear understanding of the industry a company - or product or service - falls into is essential.
Industry information generally includes:

Current environment
Industry trends & growth
How the industry operates
Industry ratios and statistics
Key players and competitors
Impact of electronic commerce
Global prospects
Professional organizations/associations

Other considerations include*:

Threat of new entrants
Bargaining power of customers
Bargaining power of suppliers
Threat of substitutes
Competitive rivalry within the industry

* See Porter's Five Forces Analysis

Market and Analyst Reports - Online Databases

MarketResearch.com Academic
MarketResearch.com Academic, formerly Kalorama Academic, offers access to previously unavailable market research reports. This fully searchable and browseable repository offers the complete text of over 500 market research reports on dozens of topics, complete with graphs, tables and charts.

ABI Inform
ABI/INFORM provides in-depth coverage of business issues, management techniques, competitive information, and a variety of other topics. It indexes and abstracts articles from more than 1,000 leading business and management publications, including over 350 English-language titles from outside the United States.

TIP: Select Business - Snapshots North America form the Database drop box.

TIP: Definition: CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate - see investopedia for a complete definition).

Global Market Information Database
Covers world consumer markets for thousands of products. In addition, Global Market Information Database offers comprehensive full-text market reports on industries, product categories, countries and companies.
TIP: From the top navigation menu select Browse reports.

Mergent Online
Mergent Online is an Internet-accessible subscription service covering 10,000 public companies and their SEC filings. In addition, Mergent offers comprehensive analyst reports on hundreds of industries.

TIP: Select the Industry Reports tab.

Market and Analyst Reports - Print Resources

Standard &Poor's Industry Surveys
Ask at Reference Desk
HC 106.6.S74
Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys are comprehensive overviews of 52 major U.S. Industries. These reports cover industry trends, developments and forecasts, major players and market share data, key ratios and statistics, comparative company analysis, general industry operations and other information. Be sure to examine the S&P Super 1500 Index Component Statistics, Outlooks and Charts, and the Company/Sub Industry reports in volume one.

Industry Data - Online Databases

Business & Industry
Business & Industry is a broad-based business information database that focuses on facts, figures, events and market information about companies, industries, products and markets. It covers all industries and is international in scope. B&I draws content from over 1000 trade and industry publications, regional, national and international newspapers, business dailies and newsletters. Use B&I when you want to find company, industry, market and product information.

Table Base
TableBase is a database comprised of tabular information of a strategic nature. Every record has a unique table title written by RDS staff which aids users in making precise selection of tables that meet their searching needs. Many of the table records also have textual content which supports the data in the tables. The tables provide information such as: market share, market size, capacity, production, imports, exports, sales, product and brand rankings, forecasts, healthcare statistics and demographics. Tables are drawn from the more than 1000 sources that go into the Business & Industry database and from statistical annuals, brokerage reports, trade association reports, and governmental reports.

Factiva
A massive database that delivers industry data, company-to-industry ratios, industry-to-industry ratios, and full-text articles from over 6,000 business-related sources.

Lexis-Nexis
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe provides a menu-driven interface to business, current events, legal and medical information. It has full-text coverage of nearly 5,000 newspapers, magazines, wire services, federal and state court opinions, federal and state statutes, federal regulations, and SEC filings such as 10-Ks and 10-Qs. There is access to company profiles, industry and market research, and trade journal articles.
TIP: Select Business > Industry & Market - News from over 25 industries

Case Studies

TIP: Enter Case Studies in the search box and select Subject from the drop box.

Industry Data - Print Resources

U.S. Industry & Market Outlook - Market Reports, Industry Trends and Demographic Data
2007
REF HC 101 .U56
The leading annual publication that describes over 100 major U.S. industries and 500+ minor industries.

Mergent Industry Review
REF HG 4961 .M68
Provides comprehensive statistics containing key financial information, operating data, and ratios on approximately 6,000 companies. This valuable information is arranged by industry, in 137 industry groups, so that not only may the companies be compared with each other, they may also be measured against certain averages for that industry. The statistics are updated twice each year. Includes: Comparative Statistics; Rankings Within Each Industry; and Growth Rates.

Encyclopedia of American Industries
2005
REF HC 102.E53 (2 vols.)
Provides overviews of major industries.
"A major business reference tool that provides detailed comprehensive information on a wide range of industries in every realm of American business.
Volume one provides separate coverage of 459 manufacturing industries. Volume two presents 545 essays covering the vast array of service and other non-manufacturing industries in the United States." Includes:

Industry Essays
- Industry snapshot
- Organization and structure
- Background and development
- Current conditions
- Industry leaders
- Workforce
- America and the world
- Research technology
- Further reading
Graphs
Conversion Tables Indexes

Interviews and Media Transcripts

Lexis Nexis
News Transcripts (includes CBS News, CNN, CNN Financial, CNN International, MSNBC, NBC News, Nightly Business Report, and more).

TIP: Select News. Next, select News Transcripts. Next, select All Transcripts. Finally, enter search terms.

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