The University of Chicago Library has collected books and trade journals covering industries since it was founded. You can find these using the library catalog. Materials may be located in Regenstein, Manseuto or Crerar libraries.
Keyword searches are good starting points, but subject headings can find things you will other wise miss. Subject headings are precise and may use older terms
Automobile instead of automotive, for example
Start with a keyword search and then look at the subjects in a full record to get some ideas of possible subjects. The catalog will display related items that can also be clues.
Standard & Poors has produced industry analysis for over 100 years. The Library's collections go back to 1917 under various titles.
The Library has a large collection of trade publications, which are magazines aimed at professionals in an industry. Recent years can be found in databases, but most access begins in the mid-1990's. Find older publications in the Library Catalog. Periodicals is a useful subject heading to combine with keywords for your industry.