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Industry
Your design will exist within the broader context of a given industry (e.g. the healthcare industry or the green energy industry). Use the resources below to delve into the economic aspects of your design's industry, including the industry's major companies, trends, and statistics as well as how your product fits into that industry.
NAICS Codes
The federal government classifies every industry using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For example, all "surgical appliance and supplies" manufacturers are labelled with the NAICS code 339113 . When conducting research on an industry, you can often search by NAICS code.
- North American Industry Classification SystemUse this US Census Bureau page to look up the NAICS code for an industry.
Industry Reports
Search for trends and important information about your industry.
- One Business (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowCombines multiple business databases providing access to scholarly journals, eBooks, trade publications, tax law resources, dissertations and conference proceedings, and videos. Company, industry, and country overviews and reports. Information sources in multiple business-related subjects including: business trends, marketing, economic conditions, accounting and finance.
- Bureau of Economic AnalysisIndustry reports by the US Department of Commerce.
- IBISWorld This link opens in a new windowIBISWorld's 700+ industry research reports offer the very latest content on every U.S. industry. Each report consists of 30 to 40 pages of key statistics and analysis on market characteristics, operating conditions, current and forecast performance, major industry participants, and more.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowStatista provides direct access to quantitative data on a wide variety of areas of interest or markets. Statistics, industry reports, company dossiers, and forecasts are some of the content available for download in multiple formats. It also offers graphical tools that allow users to manipulate data and create infographics for use in presentations and publications.
- GlobalEDGE This link opens in a new windowCreated by the International Business Center at Michigan State University (IBC), globalEDGE is a knowledge web-portal that connects international business professionals worldwide to a wealth of information, insights, and learning resources on global business activities.
