The Hispanic Business 500: Tough Economy Challenges Hispanic-Owned Firms

The Hispanic Business 500 have endured turbulent economic times before, but market conditions proved especially bearish for U.S. Hispanic companies in 2007. Revenues for this year’s HB 500 slid backwards 0.6 percent to $36.1 billion. It is the first such dip since 2002, and only the third in the directory’s 26-year history. It should come as no surprise that more than 41 percent of CEOs cited market conditions as the top barriers to growth in 2007, according to a survey by our HispanTelligence unit.

How and why did this happen after five years of impressive growth? The answer lies in large part in the makeup of the HB 500. Economic contraction was concentrated in the automotive, wholesale, and construction sectors, which combined represent a heft y 59 percent of the directory’s total revenues. The contraction stems to some degree from an economic slowdown in these sectors. Auto sales recently slipped to their lowest annual count in a decade. Prices for industrial commodities, like copper, tin, and steel, are skyrocketing, and home building has been on a steady decline since 2006.”*

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