Author Archives: admin

Fishing and Aquaculture

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As the world population grows, so do all efforts to feed that population. An important resource in this effort are our inland waterways, oceans and seas. Aquaculture—the cultivation of aquatic plants and animals also referred to as aquafarming—is the fastest growing sector within this industry. Fishing in the wild is, in many places, becoming more difficult because of regulations to prevent overfishing or because overfishing itself has already caused a serious decline in the fish population, as happened to dramatic effect off the eastern coast of Canada in the early 1990s.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the aquaculture portion of this market.

The market sizes presented here do not include aquatic plants but do cover all caught and raised fish of any kind from marine and inland waterway sources.

Geographic reference: World
Year: 1998 and 2008
Market size: 117.2 and 142.3 million tons respectively. Approximately 80% of both year’s totals were for human consumption—93.3 and 115.1 million tons respectively.
Source: “Table — 1 World Fisheries and Aquaculture Production and Utilization,” The State of Fisheries & Aquaculture 2010, page 3, available online here. The data for 1998 are from the 2000 edition of this same report, same table number, page 6, and available online here.
Original source: United Nations, Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.

Maine Lobster

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Maine lobstermen have been increasing their fishing take for years now, reaching a new record in 2010. However, as with all commodities, there is a fine balance to be found between increasing volumes and price. The high prices per pound earned during the 2003 through 2007 period came down sharply in 2008 and 2009 when the price per pound hit a decade low of $2.93. In 2010 that price rose again, to $3.31, bringing it back to the level seen in 2000.

Geographic reference: State of Maine
Year: 2000 and 2010 (preliminary data)
Market size: 57.22 million pounds valued at $187.7 million and 93.36 million pounds valued at $308.7 million respectively.
Source: “Historical Maine Lobster Landings,” a report available online here.
Original source: Maine Department of Marine Resources.

Movie Tickets

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Some people wonder why so many Hollywood movies seem to be written to appeal to a very youthful crowd. As it turns out, this has to do with the fact that young people, aged 12 to 24 years, purchase a disproportionately high percentage of all movie tickets, disproportionate as compared to their representation within the population. In North America, young people aged 12 to 24 years represents 18% of the population but in 2010 bought 32% of movie tickets.

Geographic reference: North America
Year: 2010
Market size: 1.34 billion movie tickets.
Source: Barnes, Brooks and Michael Cieply, “Graying Audience Returns to Movies, in Glasses That Aren’t 3-D,” The New York Times, February 26, 2011, page 1.
Original source: Motion Picture Association of America

Historically Black Colleges & Universities

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Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) account for only 20% of African-American college students and yet 40% of engineering degrees earned by African-Americans are earned at HBCUs. “Similarly, of the 21 undergraduate producers of African American science PhDs, 17 were HBCUs.”

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: 105 HBCUs serving over 300,000 undergraduates and graduate students.
Source: Muhammad, Jesse, “Despite Critics, HBCUs Still Relevant,” The Charlotte Post, February 19, 2011, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
Original source: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report “The Educational Effectiveness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” The Department of Education provides a list of HBCUs here.

Coffee in Puerto Rico

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Puerto Rico is experiencing a decline in its coffee production. Over the period from 2002 to 2009 the island saw a decline of more than half in the number of farms growing coffee beans, from 9,000 in 2002 to 4,000 on 2009. According to the source article, the reasons for this decline are varied and include flooding from recent tropical storms as well as difficulty finding enough workers to pick the coffee beans at harvest time. Despite high unemployment rates an estimated $25 million worth of coffee was left unpicked in the 2009-2010 season, according to the Puerto Rico Coffee Buyers & Growers Association.

Geographic reference: Puerto Rico
Year: 2006 and 2010
Market size: 178,000 pounds and 80,000 pounds respectively. The harvest in 2010 had an estimated value of $23 million.
Source: “Sharp Drop in Coffee Production on Puerto Rico Worries Growers,” The Avis, February 19, 2011, St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
Original source: Puerto Rico Coffee Buyers & Growers Association.

Online Sale of Books & Magazines

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One of the industries being most buffeted by the transition to e-commerce is publishing. For decades book publishers have used a network of book retailers as their primary means of getting books to the general public. With the advent of e-commerce this began to change. One can see clearly the speed with which this shift has altered the bookselling landscape. Amazon was started in 1994 and by 2010 it became the largest retailer of books in the United States. The previous book retailing leaders, Barnes & Noble and Borders (which entered bankruptcy reorganization this month) have scrambled to adjust to the new world of selling books while independent booksellers continue to hang on for dear life, declining in number every year as they have since the 1980s with the rise of Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Further complicating this dynamic shifting within the book world is the fact that books and magazines themselves are reasonably easily digitized. This means that the Internet provided a means not only to place orders for books and magazines but to instantly receive them in a digital format. While the shift to e-books is still young—representing less than 9% of the trade book market in 2010—it is a vibrant part of the publishing business and is coloring many of the actions taken by publishers and booksellers alike as they try and adapt to the new realities of the retail landscape for books, magazines, and all printed material.

For anyone interested in more statistics on this subject, we studied it closely last year and have a series of posts on the subject at another of our sites, the Dwarf Planet Press blog site, available here.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $2.06 and $5.14 billion respectively, an increase of 149%.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Online Sale of Computers—Hardware & Software

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Selling computers and software online seems pretty natural, after all, the buyer is using a computer to make the purchase. This may explain why the growth rate of online sales of this line of merchandise was not quite as robust between 2003 and 2008 as the growth rate for other lines of merchandise—clothes, sporting goods, food, beer and wine, and appliances to name a few lines, each with an online sales growth rate over 200%. Selling computers online has been underway since the 1990s whereas online sales of other lines of merchandise have only moved onto the Internet in a big way since the early 2000s.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $7.8 and $14.3 billion respectively, an increase of 84%.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

By the way, for anyone not familiar with the Statistical Abstract of the United States, a wonderful compilation of a huge variety of important measures of the United States, learn about it here. It is a great place to start with any investigations about the U.S. economy, business climate, people, government, and many more things yet.

Online Sale of Clothes and Shoes

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The market size presented here is the total value of clothing and shoes that were sold electronically in 2003 and 2008. It is interesting to see that online sales of clothes and shoes have grown briskly over this five-year period since it was believed that such merchandise would be harder to sell online than other things, things that people would not wish to try on before purchasing. Four Census Bureau product codes are included in this market size calculation, they are 20200 (Men’s wear); 20220 (Women’s wear); 20240 (Children’s clothes), and 20260 (Footwear).

Geographic reference: United States (based on the location of the selling entity)
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $5.13 and $17.06 billion respectively, representing a 233% increase.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Online Sale of Furniture

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Today we will present the first in a series of market sizes based on the online sale of a particular line of merchandise. The online sale of furniture is our market for today.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $3.1 and $9.8 billion respectively, representing a 217% increase over five years.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

E-Commerce

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The title of this post is a bit… well, optimistic. You see, it’s hard to get an accurate read on the size of the e-commerce market. Part of the problem is defining the term. It is a large, nebulous thing, this e-commerce market. It is a growing market that covers a large range of products and its participants vary greatly. Some are “bricks and mortar” stores that also sell online. Others are entities that do business through the Internet exclusively. And the systems needed to track all of this are only being created and fine tuned so it is early days for getting a clear picture of what is actually going on. But, there is plenty going on, that much we do know. What we present here are the data that the Census Bureau has tracked under the industry title “Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses,” [NAICS 45-411].

As we have time, we will try and present a few more detailed slices of this industry and clarify exactly what it does and does not include.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 10,013 and 21,795 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $69.03 and $215.96 billion respectively. Please note, these figures include e-commerce sales as well as mail-order house sales.
Market size: Employment: 218,406 and 342,138 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Florists

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Florists are another retailing segment that has suffered declines as a result of sales transactions of its primary product moving onto the Internet. Florists still handle many things that are not as easily done online. They likely still handle the bulk of large orders and of event related floral needs. But, the decline in their establishment counts, sales and employment do suggest that part of their traditional business has gone elsewhere.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 26,200 and 19,609 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $6.55 and $6.28 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 125,195 and 93,683 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Music Stores

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To be precise, the figures below are for the industry designated by the Census Bureau as Prerecorded Tape, Compact Disc and Record Stores [NAICS 45-1220]. Now, the very name of this industry will likely explain why it has seen such precipitous declines over the last decade… since music is now so often purchased online and downloaded as an electronic file. It also serves as an extreme example of a retailing segment that is having to grapple with a major shift in how business is done.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 8,158 and 4,102 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $7.37 and $3.51 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 66,623 and 28,685 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Department Stores

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Department stores appear to be losing ground to newer sorts of retailers. These newer retailers include those referred to as warehouse stores, those called discounters and those focused on a smaller range of particular products, apparel, shoes and accessories only, for example. Whatever the cause, department stores as a group have been in decline for some time now which can be seen clearly in the figures below. While the retail sector as a whole did well during the decade from 1997 to 2007, some segments have been under pressure due to the changes in the way we get things.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 10,366 and 8,553 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $220.12 and $210.14 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 1,795,577 and 1,229,489 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Warehouse Clubs and Superstores

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The rise of what is often called “Big Box” stores is something that has clearly altered the retail landscape significantly. The figures presented here show this transition from 1997 to 2007, although it is worth noting that not all “Big Box” stores are warehouse clubs or superstores. The term “Big Box” includes many home improvement centers and other categories of retailer. The figures correspond to the industry designated by the Census Bureau’s North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code as 45-2910 and carrying the same title as this post.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 1,530 and 4,259 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $81.92 and $324.96 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 428,357 and 1,244,250 respectively.
Source: “Sector 44: EC0744I2: Retail Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Retail Trade

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This week we’ll take a look at how some sectors within the overall retail trade industry are faring during an era of structural change going on in our system for getting products from maker to end user. Our online purchases are rising quickly while restructuring within the distribution channel has caused some wholesale industries to be absorbed by the ends of the chain, manufacturers or retailers. To start off, a look at the Retail Trade Industry as a whole. Please note, these figures do not reflect the downturn suffered as a result of the recession which began, officially, in December 2007.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 1,118,447 and 1,122,703 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $2.46 and $3.93 trillion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 13.9 and 15.6 million respectively.
Source: “Sector 00: EC0700CADV2: All Sectors: Core Business Statistics Series: Advanced Compariative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Valentine’s Day as a Market

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Based on a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation, spending on Valentine’s Day is expected to be up in 2011 after two down years in 2009 and 2010. For all those in the business of selling flowers, cards, chocolates, champagne, footie pajamas, and romantic dinners out, here’s hoping the forecast is correct!

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2005 and 2011 forecast
Market size: $13.19 and $15.7 billion respectively.
Source: “Men to Pay High Price for Love on Valentine’s Day,” an NRF press release from January 31, 2006, available online here. The estimate for 2011 is from the same source, 2011 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, the press release for which is available here.
Original source: National Retail Federation and BIGresearch.

Medical Equipment Wholesalers

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All week we have been looking at wholesale industries that are in decline, either because the products in which they deal are in decline or because of more structural changes in the overall distribution of some products. For a change of pace, today we look at one of the wholesale industries that has been doing extremely well over the last decade, and one not associated with the housing bubble, which temporarily lifted many boats.

The figures below are for the industry defined by the Census Bureau as: “…establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of professional medical equipment, instruments, and supplies (except ophthalmic equipment and instruments and goods used by ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians).” [NAICS 42-3450] As an aside, the wholesalers of ophthalmic equipment have also been doing quite well, as have most U.S. industries involved with the delivery of products and equipment used in the delivery of health care services generally.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 9,782 and 8,478 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $58.79 and $134.59 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 121,572 and 181,685 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Book Wholesalers

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The distribution network through which books get from the publisher to the reader is one that has been going through enormous change over the last few decades. First, the big box bookstores moved into a space previously occupied by smaller retailers. Then, Amazon got into the business and started serving as both a wholesaler and a retailer, but one without a store front, operating entirely online. Since then, the rise of the electronic book, or e-book, has further altered the way that books make their way to the reader. The landscape for book distribution seems to be in a state of constant change these days, much as the music industry experienced a decade ago. The figures that follow are for the industry designated by the NAICS code 42-4920: Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers.

Geographic reference: United States
Years: 1997, 2002 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 3,257; 3,464 and 2,789 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $33.63; $30.90 and $28.32 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 89,309; 76,072 and 63,511 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers

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As we saw in Monday’s post, the overall wholesale industry is doing reasonably well. However, certain industries within this sector are seeing major change and experiencing shrinkage. Those involved as wholesalers of industrial supplies in the United States, perhaps not surprisingly, have seen declines over the last decade. This is very likely a reflection of changes in the manufacturing sector generally, including such things as automation and the outsourcing and off-shoring of many assembly operations.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 15,055 and 8,259 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $64.86 and $54.89 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 140,735 and 87,975 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Hardware Merchant Wholesalers

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Wholesalers of hardware in the United States have seen tough times in the last decade which is somewhat surprising given the robust nature of the construction business during the period in question, 1997 to 2007. In fact, on the retail side of the business, hardware stores and home improvement centers saw growth over this period. It is worth noting that this industry saw some growth between 2002 and 2007, during the height of the housing boom. We provide market size data on this industry for all three census years to show this down up cycle. Despite the increase in sales from 2002 to 2007, they did not reach back to the 1997 level. If we look at inflation adjusted dollar sales, this industry’s sales in 2007 were 21% lower than in 1997.

Those involved with the wholesaling of hardware—defined for this market by the Census Bureau as “establishments primarily engaged in the merchant wholesale distribution of hardware, knives, or handtools,” [NAICS 42-3710]— may be suffering from the rise of the big box retailer who in many cases deals directly with the manufacturer to obtain merchandise. But, we will leave a closer look at retailers until next week.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1997, 2002 and 2007
Market size: Number of Establishments: 9,473; 6,841 and 6,921 respectively.
Market size: Sales: $44.06; $32.83 and $43.90 billion respectively.
Market size: Employment: 110,963; 81,734 and 88,859 respectively.
Source: “Sector 42: EC0742I2: Wholesale Trade: Industry Series: Preliminary Comparative Statistics for the United States (2002 NAICS Basis): 2007 and 2002,” 2007 Economic Census, available online here. The data from 1997 are from the 1997 Economic Census, after conversion of the data to a NAICS 2002 basis.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.