Thursday, August 7, 2008

Consolidation in the Waste Industry

The leading waste management company, Waste Management Inc., has just offered to buy the number three ranked competitor, Republic Services. This offer preempts Republic’s offer to purchase the number two competitor in the industry, Allied Waste Industries.

Before these acquisitions, the waste industry was about average in its degree of consolidation. The three largest U.S. waste companies control about two-thirds of the nation’s permitted landfill capacity. In the average large industry, the top three competitors have about 68% of total industry sales (see the Tools/Benchmarks/Quartile Ranking Reports/Marketshare in StrategyStreet.com).

If Waste Management’s offer is successful, it will then control 50% of the country’s permitted landfill capacity. This 50% compares with the median industry leader among large industries with a market share of 38% of sales. This is a very strong position.

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