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IBISWorld identifies 10 key industries that will decline, even after the economy revives
While the US economy is headed further into recovery, not every industry is performing well. Industries go through life cycles, and largely speaking, these are growth, maturity and decline. Even in a recovery, declining industries continue to underperform, and within IBISWorld’s database of close to 700 industries, about 200 are in their decline phase. Of these 200, IBISWorld has identified 10 that may be on the verge of extinction in the United States.
See link here.
I found this article to be really interesting as it not only opens your eyes to how many industries are suffering here in the US, but it also presents real data relative to these industries. The author suggests that there are three underlying factors to this decline, they include: external (foreign) competition, advances in technology, and industry stagnation. Today's business world is clearly becoming more and more of a global economy, and it is obvious that the US is suffering from this change; what do you think is most important for our nation to continue to be a global leader in the coming decades? I find it interesting that this article suggests that advances in technology are a major reason why we are seeing this decline, yet our nations technological advancement has been a major factor on our previous success; what are your thoughts on technology? Are there any other industries that you were surprised that you didn't see on this list of the 10 dying industries? Any other thoughts or comments?
I believe the death of newspapers is inevitable, and I must say I'm sad that this is so. I much prefer reading an actual newspaper to reading the news from my computer.
ReplyDeleteI believe that technological advance has both a positive and negative effect on industries. They aid in cutting costs and becoming more efficient, but also have the negative effects the article discussed. Its those companies that can withstand the cost of advancing their technology that survive within that industry. Those that cannot afford new technology eventually die, as the article also mentions.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the death of the newspaper will be a slow one. That industry has been on the decline for over a decade now.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of IBIS World, good article.
Really cool article here, Matt.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to me how some of the companies that had their greatest success as a result of technological innovation are now becoming obsolete as a result of further advances. As the article mentioned, Blockbuster is particularly interesting. Blockbuster went public in 1999, and the stock price eventually reached nearly $30/share, with something like 50,000+ employees, mostly as a result of growing DVD and video game demand. However, with the relative growth of Netflix, RedBox, and OnDemand services, Blockbuster is down for the count. Their stock price now is less than 20 cents, and the company is in bankruptcy proceedings.
I think, moving forward, we will see that the average lifespan of companies is dramatically shorter than in past generations. Technology affects everything...
Yeah I think starting a small business, depending on the industry could become more difficult or more risky just because it is difficult to predict the next technological advance that might make your product obsolete. Definitely something to consider when deciding what field to go into out of college.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jared and I can't say I'm too surprised at this list. I remember the days of renting movies from Blockbuster. The advent of high speed internet and wireless capabilities of cell phone companies has made Blockbuster a company of the past. People can watch movies and go on the internet on mobile phones much quicker than it would take to go to a local Blockbuster video. The future of the industry lies with services like hulu and netflix that allow for tv and movies to be streamed instantly onto any number of mobile units, videogame systems, and tablet computers (like the Ipad). Advances in technology are inevitable and those industries that aren't equipped to handle those advancements, as Jared and Ryan pointed, eventually go bankrupt. My father is a radiologist and at one point in time he used to have to read all X-Rays and CT scans on film. Now he can read cases (X-Rays,CT's, and MRI's) from all over the world through his computer in the comfort of his office at home. It's a harsh reality but something we have to deal with and move forward from.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't too shocked at the list of dying industries, mostly because these industries have been hurting the past decade with the technology boom. Advances in technology means some businesses will be more efficient and others will suffer so that's not a major concern of mine. I'm more concerned about how many American jobs are lost overseas because companies can manufacture goods more cheaply outside the US. I agree with Matt that the US is suffering from the business world becoming more of a global economy because more companies are moving their factories outside the US so it's benefiting that company but hurting the US economy. Because of this, it's now even more important that companies keep up to date with technological advances or else they will fall too far behind to be successful.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good article and I am not surprised by the list. I think that the infrastructure is a big set back in companies that were once big phone companies then became wireless companies like AT&T. I think that the cost of early adoption of technology is facing the fact that your infrastructure holds you back at certain points. Think of all the people who bought HD Dvd players instead of BLu Ray. Think of all the people who got beta max instead of VCR.
ReplyDeleteThe infrastructure the USA has is over 100 years old especially with the telephone lines. We have to struggle with the residual costs of operating those as we continue the transition to mobile phone and that infrastructure which is already being dated as we upgrade into 3g and 4g networks.