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Industry Surveys

1.  The elusive perfect source
2.  Resources and tips
2a.  Canadian
2b.  American
2c.  All/International
2d.  Tips for all regions
2e.  Comparing a company to its industry
3.  Other relevant SFU Library guides
 

1.  The elusive perfect source

What you are after may not exist in exactly the form (or price!) that you desire. For example, you may be hoping to find a current overview of the satellite transmitter market in B.C., but you may only be able to find a discussion of the "Communication and Other Electronic Equipment" industry in the U.S.

Definitely start by looking for the perfect survey using the resources and tips listed below, but be prepared to then pursue a combination of the following two strategies:

a.  Make assumptions and estimates about how much of the information in the imperfect report(s) you found fits your needs (such reports are rarely completely unusable); and/or...
b.  Search for the information you need to create your own industry survey (business conditions, competitors, trends, etc.) starting with the SFU Library guides Market Research & International Market Research as well as the various other guides listed in the left column of this page.
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2.  Resources and tips

Consult these sources for detailed information about your industry or sector.  Remember that American and other international surveys may be relevant to Canada as trends, products, and other developments are sometimes similar across borders.

  2.a.  Canadian
 
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2.b. American

  • Alacra Industry Spotlights: Guide to (largely US) industry research information in other resources.
     
  • Encyclopedia of American Industries (2011, 6th edition) - online for SFU researchers via the Gale Virtual Reference Library
     
  • IBISWorld: Analysis of US, China and global industries providing insight into current and future industry performance, changing trends, operating conditions and supply chain linkages.
     
  • IRS: Large Business and International (LB&I) Division Industry Overviews
    Although they are intended to help with the  IRS's "auditing & taxation" work, these industry overviews may also be useful to other researchers. They provide a brief history and description of key trends in several major industries, followed by (most importantly) a list of web links and industry associations that you could use for deeper research. 
     
  • NetAdvantage: 50+ North American industry surveys and 10+ global surveys, each of which covers industry trends, key companies, and guidance on how to analyse a company in that iindustry.
     
  • Reuters.com - Industry Reports - a good example of the sort of free stock market information that is available on the web. Be extra careful to evaluate such sources carefully, especially in the areas of authority, documentation, and completeness. Registration (free) may be required to view some of the information at this site.
     
  • United States Census Bureau: Current Industrial Reports + Economic Programs (various industry sectors) + Industry at a Glance: US government publication that covers key stats and news on 12 industry supersectors.


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2.c. All / International

  • Business Daily
    Business- and finance-related world news.  Searchable and can narrow to specific regions, countries, or industries.
     
  • Business Insights
    Very detailed reports looking at trends in specific industries and markets (esp. consumer products, financial services, healthcare, energy, and technology) from a strategic management perspective.
     
  • Business Source Complete
    Includes thousands of detailed industry reports. Start your search by clicking on Industry Profiles on the right side of the Business Source Complete screen or try this shortcut. Some specific publications to watch for:

    • Barnes Reports: Worldwide or United States
      Provides "estimates and forecasts on sales and employment demographics." Note: The preceding links take you to pre-set searches in Business Source Complete. Click on Refine Search and add terms to focus on a specific industry.
      Note: The same organisation also publishes a series of "Product Line" reports covering different types of retailers in the US.

    • Bernstein Investment Reports
      Although aimed at investors, these reports provide great overviews of the current issues and players in major industries. The link above will take you to a blog post explaining how to search for these reports in BSC.

    • Selected Global Insight, Marketline/Datamonitor, EIU, and Business Monitor International reports (click on the Publisher tab on the Industry Profiles page in BSC to get to these publishers)

    • ICON Group reports (several thousand reports on narrowly-defined products, each of which usually includes short analyses for most countries in the world). Be sure to read the methodology section at the beginning of each ICON report - they use a latent demand model that may not fit your needs.

    • MarketWatch Industry reports. There are separate MarketWatch publications for each of the following broad industries: Automotive, Drinks, Energy, Financial Services, Food, Personal Care, Technology, and Telecoms. Each monthly report contains the latest news, analysis and opinion, covering all the month's major issues including mergers and acquisitions, marketing and regulatory issues for a given industry on a global scale.

  • Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
    Sector/Country-specific reports free for Canadians. You'll need to register (free) to view them.
     
  • Gale's industry encyclopedias 
    A single-search option for several Gale titles such as the Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries, the Encyclopedia of Global Industries, and the Encyclopedia of American Industries. Start your search by entering the name of your commodity, product, or sector, or even just the name of a major company in the industry.
     
  • Global entertainment and media outlook (Pricewaterhouse Cooper): 2009-2013 edition;  2008-2012 edition; 2007-2011 edition; 2006-2010 edition.
     
  • GRAMI - Market Studies
    Free sector-specific reports covering a wide range of countries.  Note that some of the reports are outdated, but they may still be useful as a base upon which to build further research. From HEC Montreal - Centre for International Business Studies.
     
  • IBISWorld: Analysis of US, China and global industries providing insight into current and future industry performance, changing trends, operating conditions and supply chain linkages.
     
  • International Directory of Company Histories
    Sometimes reading the history of some key companies in an industry (their changing strategies and fortunes) will help you understand the industry overall.
     
  • International Trade Administration (U.S. Dept. of Commerce) - Trade & Industry Information
    Export oriented market information on industries ranging from Aerospace to Tourism.  Note that the amount of information provided at this site varies widely for different industries.
     
  • LexisNexis: Industry Reports & Analysis
    Covers a wide range of publications in one search.
     
  • NetAdvantage: 50+ North American industry surveys and 10+ global surveys, each of which covers industry trends, key companies, and guidance on how to analyse a company in that industry.
     
  • Plunkett's Industry Almanacs
    We have several online  (PDF) industry almanacs in this series, mostly from 2010/11. Industries covered: Entertainment & Media, Consulting, Real Estate & Construction, Investment & Securities, Biotech & Genetics, and Advertising & Branding.  They are global in scope, but do tend to focus on the US. 
     
  • PriceWaterhouseCoopers - Industry Overviews
    Choose an industry (from automotive to telecommunications) to get an overview of current global conditions and, in some cases, detailed reports.
     
  • TIER Industry Reports in Business Source Complete
    Focused on Taiwan, but often relevant globally, especially for the industries where Taiwan is a major exporter. See our blog post on this resource for more details.
     
  • Wall Street Transcript
    Interviews with sector research analysts, money market managers, and CEOs. Often provide information on how analysts analyse the investment potential of an industry.  See the BUEC Buzz for a full description.


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2.d. Tips for all regions

  • Try searching for articles (in any of the indexes listed below) or web sites that mention two or three of the key companies in the industry.  Such articles/sites are often about the industry as a whole.
     
  • Try reading the press releases and annual reports of key companies in the industry.  The CEO's Letter to the Shareholders (front of the annual report) often contains a summary of industry trends. Check the SFU Library guides Company Information and Annual Reports for tips on how to find such material.
     
  • Try looking for books on your industry.  Start with a keyword search, then scan your results to see what subjects are used on the most relevant results and narrow your search with those sujects.  For example, a keyword search for apparel industry will get you items such as "The transformation of the North American apparel industry : is NAFTA a curse or a blessing?" which has a subject heading of Clothing trade -- North America.  Search for the root of this subject (Clothing trade) to get dozens of other titles (including more than 20 on Canada specifically) and to link to related subjects such as Fashion merchandising and Sport clothes industry.  Don't forget to try similar searches in other library catalogues - such as your local public library.
     
  • Associations are often a great source for industry information.  Start your search for relevant associations with the SFU Library guide to Trade Associations.
     
  • It never hurts to try a general web search for industry profiles.  Try to use search terms that you would expect to see in a published profile.  I'd recommend starting with the search engine Google as it indexes the contents of Adobe PDF documents - a common format for such reports.  For example, a Google search for [mining "industry profile" Canada] got some interesting results. Be extra careful, however, to evaluate the quality of any information that you get from the web.
     
  • Brief industry surveys - at least current industry information - can often be found in business trade magazines and newspapers.  Search for such articles in the following sources: 
     
    Business Source Complete
    • Includes many industry magazines such as Beverage industry, Global Cosmetic Industry, Aluminum Industry Yearbook, and Worldwide Telecom.
    • Try the subjects Industrywide Conditions or Business Conditions or Trends or Earnings Trends combined with the name of your industry as part of your search.
    • BSC also has industry reports from publishers such as Datamonitor, the OECD, and Global Insight. Click on Industry Profiles in the right hand column of BSC to browse these reports by country, industry, or publisher.

    CBCA Fulltext Business
    • Try searching for keywords to describe the industry in combination with industr* as a subject term.  (The '*' will truncate the search term so that you find both industry and industries.  This will allow you to find such subjects as drug industry, high technology industries, and mutual fund industry.)

    Canadian Newsstand
    • Fulltext of many Canadian newspapers such as the Globe & Mail and the National Post.
    • Includes many local papers, such as the Vancouver Sun, The Province, Vancouver Courier, and the Burnaby Now.

    EconLit
    • Often has abstracts of detailed scholarly articles on the structural aspects of an industry.

    LexisNexis
    • Includes the fulltext of a large number of very current industry magazines such as Global Wireless, Bank Technology News, and Biotech Business.

2.e. Comparing a company to its industry (financials)

  • MINT Global: Search for your company, then choose to view a Peer Report and a Pie Chart. Note that you can configure the number of companies used in the peer comparison, the geographic scope of the comparison (national, regional, or international), and the criteria for choosing comparably sized companies.
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3. Other relevant SFU Library guides

 
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Owned by: Mark Bodnar
Last Modified: 2013-01-25