FAQ:
Industry
Information

So, do you like these pages?

FAQ:  Industry Information
Or, how do you find information about an industry?

When you're looking for 'industry information', that could mean you need to answer one of the following questions, some, or all of them: 

• Where can I get a simple profile, or overview, of an industry?
• Where can I get a list of companies which all produce a particular product or service?
• Where can I find the last five years' production figures for the US for a particular product? How about global figures?
• How is a particular industry organized? Is it 'vertically integrated'? (And just what does that phrase mean, anyway?) 
• What is the history of the industry?
• What are the distribution channels for this industry?
• Where can I get forecasts for the industry?
• Where can I get industry ratios? (And what are they?)
• Where can I find current news about this industry?
• What is the market share for the major companies in an industry?
• What is the market value of this industry?  What has the growth rate been?

But ... WAIT!!   

In order to answer most of these questions, you will first need to learn about classification codes, or systems, such as SIC and NAICS. Why?

• Almost all US business statistics are organized and presented by SIC or NAICS codes.
• Internationally, most business statistics are organized and presented by classification systems also (ISIC, SITC, NACE, HS, etc.)
• Companies also identify themselves by these codes.

Not sure about this alphabet soup stuff?  Click here.
Got that stuff already! (Don't really care?!)  Click here.

We hope that these pages will help you find the information you need.
If you have suggestions or comments, please e-mail us, or use the survey form (top left, linked in red).