Part of the hold that the Oligarchy has on the U.S. economy is the creation of not-quite-monopolies that control major industries here – with similar connections within the European Union and among the multinational mega-corporations around the globe.
A true monopoly is when one corporation controls all of an industry, or all of a product or commodity, and performs dastardly acts to stifle competition.
The mega-corporations of the XXIst Century are more subtle: half a dozen entities buy up a majority of an industry and merely work in concert to stifle smaller, independent companies. A key factor are the business barons who serve on the boards of many corporations – a kind of 'team-style' monopoly.
Perfectly legal: no violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, and other statutes. But the result is the same as a monopoly.
Data has so far been difficult to uncover; research continues. Even the Departments of Commerce and Transportation and Energy obscure such matters as 'gross annual revenue' by industry. For example, online statistics on the U.S. oil industry are displayed by barrels (of crude oil), not by annual revenue – that I have so far been able to locate.
Industries to be covered in this series of blog-postings include motion picture exhibition, book publishing, petroleum, railroad freight, self-storage, soda pop, and banking.
MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITION INDUSTRY
The industry group N.A.T.O. {National Assn. of Theater Owners} says that 2004 box office for the U.S. was $9.53 billion dollars, with total U.S. screens of 36,652.
Statistics gleaned from their website show that the six largest corporations own 50% of the movie screens in America.
1 Regal of TN ............................ 6,264 ... 17.1%
2 A.M.C. + Loews ...................... 4,735 ... 12.9%
3 Carmike of GA ........................ 2,450 .... 6.7%
4 Cinemark of TX ....................... 2,347 .... 6.4%
5 Cineplex Galaxy of Toronto ....... 1,560 .... 4.25%
6 National Amusements of MA ..... 1,099 .... 3%
. . . . . . 18,455 screens ÷ 36,652 total = 50.4%!
7 Century Theatres of CA ....... with 985 = 2.6%
8 Kerasotes of Chicago .......... with 609 = 1.7%
9 Marcus of WI ..................... with 503 = 1.4%
Total box office revenue for 2005 looks to be $8.75 billion, which is down from $9.53billion in 2004. The obvious reasons are the stagnant economy and ticket prices, which only go up. Usually, ticket prices are raised in New York City, and within a week or two, prices go up across the country.
WORLDWIDE SODA POP INDUSTRY
The Coca-Cola® Company, with all their various brands & flavors, sells 51% of the world soda pop market (February 2004).
RAILROAD FREIGHT INDUSTRY
There are only seven 7 Class I railroads in the U.S.A., and according to Trains Magazine, they handle ninety-one percent of the railroad freight business, which in 2004 was total operating revenue of $40.5 billion. In Canada, the situation is similar, with large portions of C.N. and C.P. revenue coming from their U.S. subsidiaries.
{Figures below are in millions of U.S. dollars.}
Union Pacific ................ $12,215M
B.N.S.F. ....................... $10,946M
C.S.X Rail .................... $8,020
Norfolk Southern ........... $7,312
Kansas City Southern ...... $639.5
Grand Trunk {U.S division of CN} – (data not located)
Soo Line {U.S division of CP} – (data not located)
Canadian National ....... $5,457M
Canadian Pacific – (data not located)
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