Industries of 2008: The Good, The Bad & Jake Kilroy

What was popular last year?

No, seriously, that was a real question. I have no idea. If I had to go by my standards of living as the only research, then Butterfinger and Jameson sales were through the roof for this nation.

Instead, I suppose I should rely on Mindy Woolen, public relations for Sageworks, a provider of financial analysis on private companies, aggregates private company financial data in real time from CPA firms.

So, anyway, the point is: we've got ourselves a list of popular and unpopular. And now that we've also got a new year underway (it's very nice to meet you, 2009), let's figure out the past so we can predict the future. Kind of like wizards with logic, I suppose.

"The list was compiled by looking at sales growth rates of privately held companies, and I've broken the list down into regions of the country, as I found it interesting to compare where certain industries are doing well and where other industries were hit the hardest," says Mindy Woolen. The information also covers 1,600 industries and 70 financial metrics.

Anyway, here's some information!

THE BEST

The Top Ten Best Industries (According to Jake Kilroy, without any regard for stats)*

1. Military Weaponary for Impending Robot Wars

2. Research and Development to Harry Potter being real

3. Anything having to do with the play Wicked

4. Anything having to do with the Twilight book series or movie

5. Obama merchandise

6. Subatomic Chocolate (you heard me)

7. The comeback of Britney Spears

8. Video games

9. Bacon

10. Jake Kilroy

Top Ten Industries in the West (by Sales Growth Over the Last 12 Months)

1. Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping and Payroll Services (15.39%)

2. Computer Systems Design and Related Services (14.93%)

3. Building Equipment Contractors (14.62%)

4. Management, Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (12.49%)

5. Utility System Construction (9.69%)

6. Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (9.12%)

7. Building Finishing Contractors (8.42%)

8. Limited-Service Eating Places (8.13%)

9. Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (7.75%)

10. Other Specialty Trade Contractors (7.20%)

Top Ten Industries in the Northeast (by Sales Growth Over the Last 12 Months)

1. Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers (11.13%)

2. Management, Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (9.81%)

3. Highway, Street and Bridge Construction (9.49%)

4. Advertising and Related Services (9.05%)

5. Architectural, Engineering and Related Services (8.82%)

6. Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (8.74%)

7. Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (8.72%)

8. Offices of Physicians (8.28%)

9. Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers (7.82%)

10. Nonresidential Building Construction (7.63%)

Top Ten Industries in the South (by Sales Growth Over the Last 12 Months)

1. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Wholesalers (15.18%)

2. Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (14.37%)

3. Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Wholesalers (10.86%)

4. Computer Systems Design and Related Services (10.63%)

5. Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing (9.24%)

6. Building Equipment Contractors (9.01%)

7. Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping and Payroll Services (8.60%)

8. Limited-Service Eating Places (8.45%)

9. Offices of Physicians (8.38%)

10. Highway, Street and Bridge Construction (7.94%)

Top Ten Industries in the Midwest (by Sales Growth Over the Last 12 Months)

1. Computer Systems Design and Related Services (12.35%)

2. Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping and Payroll Services (8.64%)

3. Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (8.53%)

4. Offices of Other Health Practitioners (7.90%)

5. Machinery, Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (7.63%)

6. Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (6.99%)

7. Offices of Physicians (6.57%)

8. Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers (6.56%)

9. Architectural, Engineering and Related Services (6.16%)

10. Utility System Construction (6.07%)

THE WORST

The Top Ten Worst Industries (According to Jake Kilroy, without any regard to stats)*

1. Television consulting

2. CD stores

3. Socialetismology

4. Making up words

5. Heavy metal

6. Strikethrough typing Flying cars

7. Hired guns

8. Bush Administration

9. Print journalism

10. Jake Kilroy

Worst 10 Industries in the West by Sales Growth/Decline Over the Last 12 Months

1. Legal Services (-1.19%)

2. Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (-1.14%)

3. Lumber and Other Construction Materials Merchant Wholesalers (-.97%)

4. Automobile Dealers (.82%)

5. Other Motor Vehicle Dealers (.89%)

6. Activities Related to Real Estate (1.39%)

7. Highway, Street and Bridge Construction (2.30%)

8. Lessors of Real Estate (2.52%)

9. Building Material and Supplies Dealers (2.80%)

10. Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers (2.88%)

Worst 10 Industries in the Northeast by Sales Growth/Decline Over the Last 12 Months

1. Other Motor Vehicle Dealers (-3.70%)

2. Residential Building Construction (-3.57%)

3. Building Material and Supplies Dealers (.27%)

4. Printing and Related Support Activities (.91%)

5. Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing (.92%)

6. Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction (.97%)

7. Activities Related to Real Estate (1.01%)

8. Hardware, and Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (2.21%)

9. Automobile Dealers (2.96%)

10. Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (3.50%)

Worst 10 Industries in the South by Sales Growth/Decline Over the Last 12 Months

1. Lumber and Other Construction Materials Merchant Wholesalers (-9.04%)

2. Building Material and Supplies Dealers (-3.28%)

3. Residential Building Construction (-1.97%)

4. Printing and Related Support Activities (-1.58%)

5. Other Motor Vehicle Dealers (.41%)

6. Agencies, Brokerages and Other Insurance Related Activities (1.41%)

7. Activities Related to Real Estate (1.50%)

8. Utility System Construction (1.93%)

9. Full-Service Restaurants (2.03%)

10. Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers (2.47%)

Worst 10 Industries in the Midwest by Sales Growth/Decline Over the Last 12 Months

1. Lumber and Other Construction Materials Merchant Wholesalers (-7.70%)

2. Building Material and Supplies Dealers (-3.67%)

3. Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing (-1.73%)

4. Highway, Street and Bridge Construction (-.88%)

5. Hardware, and Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (.12%)

6. Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers (.35%)

7. Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (1.08%)

8. Activities Related to Real Estate (1.21%)

9. Plastics Product Manufacturing (1.57%)

10. Agencies, Brokerages and Other Insurance Related Activities (1.75%)

* This is clearly done by my own obnoxious free will without any consideration of a mathematical or scientific process. Nothing financial. Total whim. Seriously.**

** I really like footnotes.***

***I wish footnotes were a more popular industry.

You can find out more about industry trends at www.sageworks.com/industrytrends, and can find out more about everything else (life, traveling, friendship, gambling, who knows?) if you just keeping reading this blog of mine every week.