Are you a statistics junkie? Here are some useful ones related to plastics and manufacturing, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau.
- U.S. manufacturers reported shipments of more than $5.3 trillion in 2007, an increase of more than $1.4 trillion from the $3.9 trillion reported in 2002.
- Over the same period, the manufacturing sector experienced a loss of more than 1.3 million jobs, falling to 13.3 million.
- Food, petroleum and chemicals accounted for more than 56 percent of the growth in the manufacturing sector ($812 billion of the $1.4 trillion increase) from 2002 to 2007.
- Apparel, plastics and rubber products, and computers and electronic products made up more than 36 percent (478,574) of the 1.3 million-person decline in manufacturing employment.
This data is part of an
advance report released Tuesday by the Census Bureau. It is the first in a series of industry- and geographic-area data from the 2007 Economic Census. The Economic Census is conducted every five years, and the Bureau considers it "the most comprehensive and detailed profile of the U.S. economy, covering millions of businesses representing more than 1,000 industries."
For our readers who just can't get enough statistics, make sure to check the
2007 Economic Census home page. You can also sign up to receive alerts when particular industry or geographic reports are released via the soon-to-be-available economic census
NotifyMe service.
The site also provides industry snapshots, state rankings and other features to help users better understand the data.
