Until 2009, U.S. Government Contractors (USGC) had been growing by 12% to 15% a year, but starting in 2009, growth slowed to 2% to 4% a year as customer spending decelerated. Traditional competitors such as USGC were also challenged by new entrants to the market, including large non-U.S. companies and large commercial service companies. Many new entrants enjoyed advantages in scale and cost position that allowed them to undercut USGC on price, causing loss of market share and increasing the challenges to market growth.