MSE 443 Materials Engineering Design: Library Resources Guide
Industry Analysis/The Competition
In which industry is your product?
The first step in conducting industry analysis is determining in which industry your product or type of business is. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system classifies business establishments by their primary type of activity. Each SIC code represents a different industry. For example, 3695 is the SIC code for the magnetic and optical recording media industry. A company may have more than one SIC code, depending on the diversity of its business activities. The SIC system has been officially replaced in 1997 by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America.
Many of the business resources organize their information by these industry codes. However, many of the sources have not yet replaced SIC with NAICS. So, you will need to know both the SIC code and the NAICS code for your industry.
Use the SIC Manual to identify the 3- or 4-digit industry code for your product:
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual (online searchable version)
Also available in print at HF 1042 A55 1987 Info Commons Ref.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) (online searchable versin)
Also available in print at HF 1042 A55 1997 Info Commons Ref.
Return to the top of the page.
What are the industry's sales?
What are trends in the industry? Where can I find analysis about the industry?
What advantages/disadvantages does your product have over the competitors?
A key way to find information about industries is to read through articles or other reports from business periodicals (business newspapers, business magazines, business journals). Often, this is the only way to find some types of information, and you may need to read through many articles to find the information you need. The library subscribes to several indexes to business periodicals, as well as some reference books with industry information; a few recommended ones are listed here.
ABI/Inform
Available through the library homepage at http://www.library.arizona.edu/. Database of citations and some full-text of articles from nearly 1800 business periodicals, including the Wall Street Journal. Searchable by NAICS code, company name, subject and keyword.
Business & Company Resource Center
Available through the library homepage at http://www.library.arizona.edu/. Click on Indexes, then Business.
Database of mostly full-text articles, reports, and data related to companies, industries, products. Searchable by industry name or SIC or NAICS code.
Business NewsBank
Available through the library homepage at http://www.library.arizona.edu/. Click on Indexes, then Business.
In-depth company, industry, product and executive news, covering both private and public companies. Offers full text coverage from hundreds of regional and local business publications.
Economic Census 1997
Available on the U.S. Census Bureau's Web site at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/econ97.html.
Lots of valuable data arranged by NAICS code and geographic area. The 2002 Economic Census started in December 2002, and some reports should be available in 2004.
LEXIS-NEXIS
Available through the library homepage at http://www.library.arizona.edu/. Click on Indexes, then Business.
The Business section includes business news, company financial reports, and industry reports.
Manufacturing & Distribution USA: Industry Analyses, Statistics, and Leading Companies
HD9721 .M36 Main Ref.
Provides economic statistical information on manufacturing industries. Arranged by SIC code, includes information on leading companies, financial ratios, average number of employees, sales and types of materials consumed in certain industries.
Mergent Online
Full text financial information on over 10,000 U.S. public companies and over 15,000 non-U.S. companies. Includes company history, officers, subsidiaries, financial data, and annual reports. Access to SEC filings back to 1993. May also be searched by SIC code and financial & ratio criteria. Contains a Peer Group Analysis feature, which allows you to compare companies to their peers based on ratios like ROE, ROA, Gross Margin, etc. (Online version of the Moody's/Mergent Manuals).
Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys
HG4921 .S68 Info Commons Ref.
Arranged by broad industry categories. Includes overview of and trends in industries.
Value Line Investment Survey
HG4501.V26 Main Reserves & Main Current Journals
Overviews of industries and companies and investment analysis.
Return to the top of the page.
Who are the competitors in this industry in Arizona and the United States? (i.e, who are YOUR competitors?)
Business Directories
Arizona
Arizona Business-to-Business Sales & Marketing Directory
HF3161 .A6 .D52 Info Commons Ref
Arizona Manufacturers Directory
T12 .A72 Main Ref
Arizona manufacturers and related businesses listed alphabetically, geographically, and by SIC code.
Regional Business Directory. Phoenix/Tucson area. (Dun & Bradstreet's)
HG4058.P545 D86 Info Commons Ref
Listing of companies in the Phoenix and Tucson areas by SIC code, geographically, and alphabetically by company name.
United States
Million Dollar Database
Print version available at HC102 .D8 Info Commons Ref
Companies listed alphabetically and by SIC code.
Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
HG 4057 A575 Info Commons Ref
Companies listed alphabetically and by SIC code.
Return to the top of the page.
What share of the market do these competitors have?
Market Share Reporter
HF 5410 M35 Info Commons Ref
Arranged by SIC code, provides market share data on various industries and products.
Some market share information may be found in the Business & Company Resource Center database. Do an Advanced Search . In the Content Area , select Rankings . Then search on SIC code, NAICS code, keyword, or company name. At the top of the list of results, click on the small tab Market Share.
Librarians:
Mary Feeney, Business Librarian
Jim Martin, Science-Engineering Librarian
Website created by Mary Feeney.