Industry Statistics

• Industry Codes
• General Sources of Industry Statistics
• Business Ratios & Industry Norms
• Competitors

Finding an industry code

NAICS:

• browse the list of NAICS codes by number, or search for a specific code by keyword.
• many business databases give you the option to search by NAICS code and provide a built-in list 

Other systems:

• see Statistics Canada's guide to Standard Industry Classifications
• some sources still use the SIC system (e.g. Dun & Bradstreet's Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios)

• BC STATS : Business & Industry
  - includes links to tables and reports


• E-STAT
  - excellent collection of tables from Statistics Canada's huge CANSIM collection
  - to get a sense of the broad range of CANSIM tables broken down by industry, try searching the term NAICS in E-STAT's 'Search CANSIM by Subject' option


• Industry Canada : Canadian Industry Statistics (formerly called Strategis)
  - extracts data from five Statistics Canada sources to provide current overview of broad industry sectors (2-digit NAICS code); manufacturing sector is broken down in more detail (to 3-digit level). detail.


• Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA)
  - mostly Canadian magazines, newspapers and scholarly journals
  - search tips:
  • To find statistical information : use the keywords data OR statistic* .
    TIP: The asterisk symbol (*) is a shortcut that will match the words statistic, statistic s , statistic al , statistic ally , etc.
  
  
  • To focus on a specific industry : select the drop-down option to search by NAICS code or enter the name of your industry in one of the search boxes.
  
  
  • To focus on a place : add the name of the place you're looking for in one of the search boxes, eg. British Columbia OR BC OR B.C. Don't use the 'Location' drop-down option; it's not reliable.



• Business Source Premier : Industry Reports
  - large collection of 20-page Datamonitor reports. Click on the 'Country' tab to narrow results to Canada.

	Dun & Bradstreet Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios (INKBR)	Industry Canada SME Benchmarking Tool (formerly called Performance Plus)	Statistics Canada Financial Performance Indicators for Canadian Business (FPICB) ( Access Details ) ( Guide with Screenshots )
Source of Data	D&B’s proprietary “extensive database” of financial statements from public and private businesses	Statistics Canada's Small Business Profiles which include tax return data, income statements and balance sheets for both incorporated and unincorporated businesses.	Very comprehensive. Statcan extracts data from tax returns and financial statements for all incorporated businesses, plus government business enterprises.
Currency	Annual; quarterly updates 3 years of data	Biennial (every 2 years); most recent data is from 2008	Annual 3 years of data
Industry Detail	4-digit SIC code least detailed, e.g.   0182 = Agricultural Production: Food Crops Grown Under Cover	5- to 6-digit NAICS codes approx. 600 industry sectors, e.g.  5-digit NAICS code: 11141 = Food Crops Grown Under Cover 6-digit NAICS code: 111411 = Mushroom Production	6-digit NAICS 2007 codes (most detailed)
Business Size	Small, medium and large assets ranges from "under $100,000" to "$1 million plus"	Small and medium annual revenues from $30,000 - $5M	Small, medium and large
Regions Covered		Canada and provinces	Canada, provinces and regions
Ease of Access	Easy	Easy, but can be slow to load.	Challenging. You must install special software on your computer. Not available on Library workstations. See below for details. *
# Ratios	14	30 performance benchmarks	15 key financial ratios
Customizable with own data	Yes	Yes
Output formats	Plain text Excel Spreadsheet (CSV) SAS, SPSS HTML display HTML (sortable columns)	Excel and Lotus.

* ACCESS INSTRUCTIONS: To use Financial Performance Indicators for Canadian Business (FPICB), you need to go to the Equinox data system and enter "Financial Performance Indicators" into the search box. Select the edition you want (eg. 2005-2007) and then download and install the  package onto your own computer; installation instructions are provided. FPICB is not available on any Kwantlen student workstations due to conflicts with our network setup. If you'd prefer, you can borrow a copy on CD-ROM from the Richmond or Surrey library reserve counter.