Understand your product and your market.

1. Consult industry overviews.

The latest editions of the following are at the Reference Desk:

• Encyclopedia of American Industries.
• Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries.
• S&P's Industry Surveys.
• U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook.
• U.S. Industry Profiles: The Leading 100.
• Value Line Investment Survey.
  Look for:

  • Industry trends
  • Numbers for shipments, employment, size of market, and much more
  • Prominent players
  • Leads to company research.
  • Industry-wide balance sheet information
  • Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes

2. Use government publications for industry information.

• Economic Census: Wholesale, Retail, Manufacturing, Service, Transportation, etc. Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census, every 5 years. Print and at U.S. Census Bureau website.
• County Business Patterns. Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census, annual. Also at U.S. Census Bureau website.

3. See also Questions for Product and Industry Research