Agricultural Economics (Undergraduate)
Library Research Guide
Industry Reports (Also Called Industry Profiles)
K-State Libraries’ subscriptions include industry/market research reports published by First Research, IBISWorld, MarketLine, Mintel, and Statista.
Industry reports provide overviews of industry trends, industry revenue, and revenue projections in an easy to digest format. Though reports may cover an industry that is broader than the market you are researching (for example, Sporting Goods Stores instead of Bicycle Shops), they are still useful for understanding the competitive forces that may impact a business.
IBIWorld Industry Reports
Looking for industry information? Start with IBISWorld.
- IBISWorldPaid for by K-State Libraries
K-State Libraries subscribes to IBISWorld US Industry Reports and US Specialized Industry Reports. The US Industry reports module covers 700 industries. Reports have statistics and analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants and more. The Specialized Industry Reports complement the Industry Reports module and can be useful when researching small or new industries.
MarketLine Industry Profiles
- Business Source PremierMarketLine company and industry profiles are available in Business Sources Premier. Industry profiles include Porter's Five Forces Analyses. The Five Forces is a framework, developed by Michael Porter, for analyzing the forces that shape an industry.
Find MarketLine Industry Profiles in Business Source Premier.
- Enter MarketLine (one word) in the Ti Title field.
- Enter United States in the GE Geographic Terms. MarketLine also covers other countries.
- Enter the search terms for your industry in the TX All Text field.
- After running the search, use menu on left to limit by source type (industry profile) and date (last few years).
Tips for finding MarketLine Industry Profiles in Business Source Premier.
First Research Industry Reports
- First Research Industry Profiles (available through ABI/INFORM)First Research provides industry profiles for over 1000 US industry segments. Profiles contain critical analysis, statistics and forecasts.
Fitch Industry Reports
- Fitch Solutions Country Industry Reports (available through ABI/INFORM)Fitch covers 20 major industries for the US and other global markets.
Finding a Report That Matches Your Industry
Reports available through the library usually cover an industry broadly though researchers are often interested in a specific product or service. Even if a specific product or service is not covered, industry reports are still useful for understanding the environment and competitive forces that impact companies in the industry group.
Understanding how industries are classified will help you find a report that matches your industry.
When the federal government collects data about economic activity, companies are grouped into industries using NAICS (the North American Classification System). Government data is the foundation for industry research reports, so they often follow a similar classification scheme.
Industry research reports are often classified based on NAICS.
Industry Financial Ratios
- IBISWorldK-State Libraries subscribes to IBISWorld US Industry Reports and US Specialized Industry Reports. The US Industry reports module covers 700 industries. To find industry financial ratios, go to the key statistics section the report.
Proprietary Research Reports (Available for Purchase Only)
The library does not provide access to reports from sources such as Allied Market Research, Mordor Intelligence, or MarketResearch.com. Due to licensing restrictions, industry and market research reports are not available through interlibrary loan.
