Industry reports and market research

Find the right databases to research Australian and international industries and markets.

Industry report databases are useful if you are looking for a broad view of an industry, for example iron ore mining in Australia or a market such as clothing retailing.

These reports provide information such as industry profiles, supply chains, main activities, leading companies, market overviews, consumers, forecasts and more.

Market or industry research may involve understanding the environment that an industry or market operates in by analysing statistics and other data about a region. For assistance see How to find statistics and country data.

Major databases:

view all industry and market research databases

How to find information about:

Risk reports and ratings

Australian industry risk reports

Australian industry risk reports are available via IBISWorld industry reports Recommended for Australian industry risk ratings, however most industry and market research databases provide information about various aspects of risk (such threats and weaknesses) to an industry or market.

Country risk ratings

Country risk ratings are available via PRS country data which provides access to:

  • The International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) ratings, which publishes current risk ratings for economic, financial and political risk for 140 developed, emerging and frontier markets. Also refer to ICRG Methodology (PDF, 238KB)
  • The Coplin-O'Leary PRS Forecasts predicts a similar range of economic, financial and political risk factors for periods ranging from 12 months to five years from the present year. Also refer to PRS Methodology (PDF, 282KB).

PESTLE analyses

PESTLE analyses evaluate the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental environment an industry operates in.

PESTLE analysis industry report databases

Search in relevant industry report databases.

PESTLE analysis journal article databases

It may also be useful to search for recent industry press articles in order to develop your understanding of the PESTLE factors that affect an industry.

Emerging markets and industries

For emerging industries and markets there might not be full profiles or reports available. Often searching for journal and newspaper articles or researching key companies can assist.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) eLibrary is a good source of data and analyses on developing and third world economies. A range of fiscal, monetary and trade data is available under the IMF DATA heading.

The creative industries

The following databases provide data and industry information specially related to the creative industries:

Industry reports reports for Arts and Recreation Services are available from IBISWorld industry reports under:

  • Australian Industry Reports (ANZSIC)
  • US Industry Reports (NAICS)

Fashion industry analysis and data are available via Passport under:

  • Apparel and footwear (this is the best bet!)
  • Luxury goods
  • Personal Accessories

Tourism industry

For tourism industry reports and case studies:

Market and industry news

Articles published in leading business magazines, trade journals and newspapers often provide a level of depth and insight into an industry's structure, strategy and competition yet to be included in reports and profiles.

Major databases for researching market and industry news:

  • Factiva searches thousands of local and international newspapers, trade journals and magazines. Detailed searching by company, industry, or region is possible. For example, to find articles from South Australian sources in the last six months about the closure of the automotive industry:
    1. Enter closure into the Search Form
    2. Change the Date drop-down to In the last 6 months
    3. In Industry browse to Automotive
    4. In Region browse to Australia/Oceania - Australia and select South Australia
    5. Hit Search
  • Financial Times contains news, analysis and commentary for markets and industries. Personalised alerts can be added via myFT to achieve current awareness of developments that affect market conditions.
  • ABI/Inform Trade & Industry includes in-depth coverage of companies, products, executives, trends and other topics.

See Newspapers and news media for more news databases and advice about searching news sources.

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