I promise not to make Depressing Wednesday a weekly issue, but it seemed fitting since I want to highlight the IBIS World report on the Dying Industries. Some of them won't seem all that surprising. IBIS World gave this distinct honor of extinction to these industries because during the past 10 years they have experienced a sizeable contraction inrevenue and the number of establishments and their 5 year forecast predicts the same fate. Each of these industries has faced one or more of the three detrimental industry factors, including external competition, advances in technology and industry stagnation.

Here's the top 10, or should we say bottom 10:

Wired Telecom Carriers
Mills
Newspaper Publishing
Apparel Manufacturing
DVD, Game, Video Rental
Manufactured Home Dealers
Video Postpr0duction Services
Record Stores
Formal Wear & Costume Rental

What is interesting is that no matter how dire the industries as a whole, IBIS World points out that not all individual players in the industry are about to succumb. According to their analyst, "Industry operators that protect their strengths in certain market segments, focus on niche opportunities and capitalize on the dwindling number of competitors often reap the strongest rewards of sole operation, market survival and profitability."