Industry Information
From Library Reference
Contents |
Industry Information
The following resources are useful for industry & environmental analyses. Significantly more information is available for large industries (e.g. aircraft, automotive, publishing, etc.) Much of the available information is drawn from reports filed by publicly owned corporations, so knowing the names of major companies in the industry will be useful in doing research. For smaller industries, or for industries composed primarily of small businesses (for instance restaurants, day care centers, and/or fitness clubs) most of the information you will find will either be for a group of miscellaneous industries or will be narrative (e.g. articles in business and industry magazines.)
Industry Classifications
Industries are classified for statistical purposes by the U.S. Commerce Dept. Classification schemes are also available for international industries. Some industry guides are organized by NAICS, SIC or SITC codes, so finding the appropriate code for your industry may be useful for your research. Some industries will only be listed as part of a larger industry (e.g. window washing is under Janitorial Services.) The following guides list and describe industrial classifications.
North American Industry Classification System : United States.
NAICS numbers were devised to take the place of SIC numbers, so that a standard set of numbers could be used in NAFTA member countries. Use of the NAICS numbers is not yet widespread. http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html Conversion Tables for NAICS/SIC codes
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naicstab.htm
Harmonized Tariff Schedule Of The United States International Trade Commission. http://www.usitc.gov/tata/index.htm
Financial Statements
Financial Statements handbooks are used to find out what the industry standards are or to compare a particular corporation=s operating costs and sales figures against their industry. They vary in organization, specificity of information and the number of industries covered
RMA Annual Statement Studies (Robert Morris Associates) REF.HC106.5.A17A
Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios. (Dun & Bradstreet) REF.HF5681.R25I525
Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios. REF.HF5681.R25T68
Industry Surveys
Industry surveys provide narrative and statistical information about industries. The following guides are primarily useful for finding information on major industries composed of large businesses.
Business Statistics of the United States. REF. HA 3001 .B875 2004
Dun & Bradstreet/Gale Group Industry Handbooks. REF. HF5035 .D86 2000
Included: overviews, statistics & performance indicators, financial ratios, key companies, and rankings. Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (vol.1); Computers & Software and Broadcasting & Telecommunications (vol.2); Construction and Agriculture (vol.3); Entertainment and Hospitality (vol.4); Insurance and Health & Medical Services (vol.5)
Plunkett's Industry Almanacs. Each of the Plunkett's guides includes a chapter on major industry trends, a chapter on careers in the industry, a chapter on international trade, and a chapter on industry outlook for segments of the industry. The largest portion of each of the guides is a listing of the key companies in the industry with rankings, directory and brief financial information, and information on the corporate culture and competitive advantages. Titles and industries covered change from year to year. To find a listing of the Plunkettâs guides, search in the Library Catalog under âTitleâ for Plunkettâs.
Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys. REF.HC106.6.S74
U.S. Industrial Outlook REF.HC106.5.A17A (this title ceased publication with the 1994 edition) & U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook. REF. HC101.U54 (This title replaces the U.S. Industrial Outlook. No new editions have been published since 2000.
The Value Line Investment Survey. REF. HG 4501.V26 Value Line provides current industry information for publicly traded companies at the beginning of each industry section (e.g. prior to company reports on the Maritime Industry is a page of data on the industry.)
U.S. Commerce Department (The Economic Census & County Business Patterns)
Economic Census surveys are done every five years. For tips on using Economic Census data, see: Industry Research Using the Economic Census: How To Find It, How To Use It. REF. HC101.B94 2004.
The Industry Series reports are available online, at:
http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/guide/INDSUMM.HTM
Find County Business Patterns (including some zip code level data) at: http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Labor Department provides industry statistics relating to employment, with most statistical series being updated annually, at: http://www.bls.gov/bls/industry.htm See http://www.bls.gov/iag/iaghome.htm for the BLSâ âIndustry at a Glanceâ information series.
General Information on Industries
Most people find considerable industry information using electronic information resources to find periodical information. This is a particularly useful tactic for finding information on industries that are too small to show up in industry surveys. Key-word searching in full-text databases often nets useful information. Following is a list of databases that have proven useful in doing industry research.
NOTE: These are subscription databases and require Bradley login and password for off-campus access.
ABI Inform
ABI Inform provides citations and some full-text information from U.S. and International business and management publications.
BUSINESS SOURCE ELITE
Full text access to over 1000 business journals.
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Provides citations and abstracts to facts, figures and key events dealing with public and private companies, industries, products and markets for all manufacturing and service industries at an international level.
FACTIVA
Factiva provides full-text access to newspapers and business trade journals. It is particularly useful for finding trade publications devoted to specific industry segments, such as: Restaurant News, Nation's Restaurant News, and Food & Drink Weekly.
LEXIS-NEXIS ACADEMIC
Lexis-Nexis provides full-text access to industry and market news, newspapers, magazines, news transcripts, and company information.
Non-Profits, Associations, & Other Unusual Industries
Very little industry information may be available for some organizations. If your organization falls into this category, you may find some useful information in the Encyclopedia of Associations ( REF.HS17.G32), in periodicals indexes, and in public relations resources. Keep track of where you've looked; you may want to show that a lack of results doesn't reflect a lack of effort on your part.
Don't See What You're Looking For?
If you didn't find the help you were looking for on this page, please call, e-mail, or append a comment to let me know what kind of research assistance you were seeking. We are here to help, and we want to know if our services could be made more useful. Thank you for helping us build a better Reference Service.
You can access many of the Library's research resources from the Library's home page, at: http://library.bradley.edu/ --Johnson@bradley 09:33, 26 June 2008 (CDT))
