CHICAGO - U.S. restaurant industry visits declined from 62.7 billion in 2008 to 60.6 billion in 2011, and independent restaurants accounted for 87% (2 billion) of these traffic losses, according to The NPD Group. Independent restaurants, 7,000 of which have closed since 2009, have steadily lost traffic share to the major restaurant chains, whose unit growth has only offset half of independent unit losses, according to NPD??s ongoing foodservice market research.

Independent restaurants represented 28% of industry traffic in the year ending November 2008, and now represent 27% of the industry??s visits. Restaurant chains have held a steady share of industry visits, and gained the independent restaurants?? 1% share loss, increasing share from 60% in 2008 to 61% in 2011, according to NPD??s CREST service.

"Independent restaurant operators have neither the money nor resources that the chains have," said Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst, in a press release. "They lacked the marketing power to drive traffic and the monetary buffer to get through the difficult times during the past several years."

NPD??s data shows that restaurant chains have grown by 4,511 units and the number of independent restaurants decreased by 7,158 units since 2008. The recently released Fall 2011 ReCount reports that independent units were down by 2% from the Fall 2010 ReCount census and chain restaurant unit growth was flat.

Total restaurant industry traffic for the year ending November 2011 was flat compared to a year ago, according to NPD??s CREST. Visits to chain restaurants were up 1% while visits to independent restaurants were down 4% for year ending November 2011.