Economic Brief: Food Trucks (Food Industry)

Economic Brief
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Economic Brief: Food Trucks (Food Industry)
Introduction
The food sector that comprises of the food trucks, is classified under section 72 – "Accommodation and Food Services," and its main focus is offering meals to customers. Within this sector, food trucks serve food from mobile carts and trucks. Food trucks are classified under "Mobile Food Services," and these establishments usually prepare snacks and food and serve them from motorized cars or non-motorized carts (census.gov, 2012a). Customers usually purchase these meals for direct consumption. Therefore, the establishments in this industry focus primarily on serving fast foods from vehicles, for instance, ice cream trucks and hot dog carts.
Industry Goods and Services
The establishments that run in this sector provide food and beverages for direct consumption. These meals are usually served from various forms of automobiles. Some illustrative examples of food trucks include ice cream truck vendors, mobile canteens, mobile snack stands, mobile food carts, mobile food concession stands, and mobile refreshment stands (census.gov, 2012a). There are limited-service restaurants where customers order food services and pay before consumption. Direct selling establishments offer unprepared products such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Others sell specialty snacks like frozen yogurt, ice cream, popcorns, and cookies. Full-service restaurants sell food specialties like hot dogs hamburgers, pizza chicken, and other specialty cuisines.
Market Structure and Characteristics
The market structure in this industry is primarily focused on selling food services in food trucks. Two main characteristics that are common in this industry include establishments that sell food in mobile trucks and those that use a combination of both mobile and immobile trucks. The characteristic of these establishments is that foods and beverages can be sold in mobile trucks or c...