Although backward integration is often more profitable than forward integration (because
of typical low margins in retailing), it can reduce a corporation’s strategic flexibility. The resulting
encumbrance of expensive assets that might be hard to sell could create an exit barrier,
preventing the corporation from leaving that particular industry. Examples of single-use assets
are blast furnaces and breweries. When demand drops in either of these industries (steel or
beer), these assets have no alternative use, but continue to cost money in terms of debt payments,
property taxes, and security expenses