Ambulance Services Industry Profile

Companies in this industry transport patients by ground or air and provide emergency or other medical care. Major companies include Acadian Ambulance Service, American Medical Response, and ModivCare (all based in the US), as well as Falck (Denmark), Harmonie Ambulance (France), and Lufftransport (Norway).

The majority of the world's population does not have access to ambulance transport or prehospital trauma care. Global groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as smaller entities like Trek Medics International, are working to improve or establish emergency medical service (EMS) systems in developing countries, where prehospital care could reduce fatality rates.

The US ambulance services industry includes about 6,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $15 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Increases in immigration, birth rates, morbidity rates, and life expectancies, as well as emergency medical events, drive demand for ambulance services. The profitability of individual companies depends on quick and effective response and operational efficiency. Large companies have advantages of scale in contract negotiations, service capabilities, technology, and geographic coverage. Small companies can compete effectively by providing superior service in specific locales. The US industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 60% of revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

The industry's major service is medical transport of patients, which includes surface ambulance emergency services (65% of industry revenue), surface ambulance non-emergency services (about 20%), and air ambulance emergency services and ...