INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Government Statistics:

The U.S. Government agency responsible for collecting and publishing the bulk of industry statistics is the U.S. Census Bureau, a division of the Commerce Department. Reports based on these statistics are organized by NAICS, the North American Industry Classification System. [http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/]

Every five years (years ending in 2 and 7), a comprehensive Economic Census is conducted to gather details about economic activity by sector and by state, and, in most cases, for counties and cities as well. [http://www.census.gov/econ/census/]

For small businesses run by the self-employed, refer to the Nonemployer Statistics for states, metro areas, and counties. [http://www.census.gov/econ/nonemployer/index.html]

Note: An older classification system still in use is the SIC - Standard Industrial Classification. [http://www.osha.gov/cgi-bin/sic/sicser5]

Industry Overviews:

The Encyclopedia of American Industries provides overviews of over 1,000 SIC-based industry sectors, with essays that cover the organization, structure, and background of the industry. This Website is based on a 2-volume set of reference books published by Gale in 2004. [http://www.answers.com/library/US%20Industry%20Profile]

Selected Industry Statistics and Financial Ratios are available for sole proprietorships, S-corporations, and corporations from BizStats. [http://www.bizstats.com]

Trade Associations:

The American Society of Association Executives maintains an online directory of trade associations, membership societies, and other not-for-profit associations on its Gateway to Associations. [http://www.asaecenter.org]

Periodicals Database:

The Business Source Premier database at JerseyClicks will provide articles published in about 1,200 trade journals and business magazines. Click on CUSTOM SEARCH and enter your local library card number; you can then select the database and search for articles on industry overviews and trends, as well as marketing products and services. State funding for this resource will likely end June 30, 2010. [http://www.jerseyclicks.org]

Rutgers Research Guide:

The Industry Research Guide will lead you to over two hundred other sources of information, both online and in print, including the Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys with in-depth profiles of many large industry groups (DANA Reference Desk, KILMER REF HC 106.6 .S74) and the Financial Studies of the Small Business with industry averages and financial ratios (DANA REF HD 2346 .U5 F55A).