Much of the available information is drawn from reports filed by publicly owned corporations, so knowing the names of major companies in the industry will be useful in doing research. The U.S. Commerce Dept classifies industries for statistical purposes.
Classification schemes are also available for international industries.
The following guides list and describe industrial classifications. United States, 1997. The manual includes SIC conversion tables. The Standard Industrial Classification Manual. Financial Statements Financial Statements handbooks are used to find out what the industry standards are or to compare a particular corporations operating costs and sales figures against their industry.