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, industry research firm IBISWorld has identified 10 that may be on the verge of extinction in the United States.
The 10 dying industries
The 10 chosen industries all needed to be in the decline phase of their life cycle. Furthermore, during the 10 years from 2000 to 2010, the industries needed to experience a sizeable contraction in revenue and establishments. Finally, to be in the list of 10, they needed to forecast further deterioration for revenue growth and establishments over the five years to 2016. From these basic boundaries, 10 industries were standouts: Manufactured Home Dealers; Record Stores; Photofinishing; Wired Telecommunications Carriers; Apparel Manufacturing; Newspaper Publishing; DVD Game and Video Rental; Mills; and Formal Wear and Costume Rental. Apparel Manufacturing includes a combination of three industries, comprising Men’s and Boys’ Apparel Manufacturing; Women’s and Girls’ Apparel Manufacturing; and Costume, Uniform, Infant and Other Apparel Manufacturing. Additionally, the Mills sector groups together four industries: Hosiery and Sock Mills; Textile Mills; Apparel Knitting Mills; and Carpet and Rug Mills.