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Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States

Information on approximately 90 mineral commodities, including production, imports, exports, and stocks; reported and apparent consumption; and unit value (the real and nominal price in U.S. dollars of a metric ton of apparent consumption). For many of the commodities, data are reported as far back as 1900.

By Thomas D. Kelly and Grecia R. Matos, with major contributions provided by David A. Buckingham, Carl A. DiFrancesco, Kenneth E. Porter, and USGS mineral commodity specialists.1

Online Only

For global mineral and material commodities data, see Data Series 896

General Notes

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides information to the public and to policy-makers concerning the current use and flow of minerals and materials in the United States economy. The USGS collects, analyzes, and disseminates minerals information on most nonfuel mineral commodities.

This USGS digital database is an online compilation of historical U.S. statistics on mineral and material commodities. The database contains information on approximately 90 mineral commodities, including production, imports, exports, and stocks; reported and apparent consumption; and unit value (the real and nominal price in U.S. dollars of a metric ton of apparent consumption). For many of the commodities, data are reported as far back as 1900. Each commodity file includes a document that describes the units of measure, defines terms, and lists USGS contacts for additional information.

End-use tables complement these statistics by supplying, for most of these commodities, information about the distribution of apparent consumption.

This publication draws on more than 125 years of minerals information experience. At the request of the 47th Congress of the United States (1882; 22 Stat. 329), the U.S. Government began the collection and public distribution of these types of data. The Federal agencies responsible for the collection of the data have changed through time. For the years 1882-1924, the USGS collected and published these data; the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) performed these tasks from 1925-95; and in 1996, the responsibilities once again passed to the USGS (following the closure of the USBM) (Mlynarski, 1998).

The USGS collects data on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual, and annual basis from more than 18,000 minerals-related producer and consumer establishments that cooperate with the USGS. These companies voluntarily complete about 40,000 canvass forms that survey production, consumption, recycling, stocks, shipments, and other essential information. Data are also gathered from site visits, memberships on domestic and international minerals-related committees, and coordination with other government organizations and trade associations.

The USGS makes this information available through published products, including monthly, quarterly, and annual Mineral Industry Surveys, the annual Minerals Yearbook (MYB), the annual Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS), and special mineral commodity studies, including the history of metal prices and materials flow studies. 

Methodology

The data included in this publication were compiled primarily from publications of the USGS and USBM. The principal references for these data are the annual MYB publication and its predecessor, Mineral Resources of the United States (MR). Other USGS and USBM publications used as references included: Statistical Compendium (SC), Metal Prices in the United States Through 1991 (MP91), Metal Prices in the United States Through 1998 (MP98), Metal Prices in the United States Through 2010MCS and its predecessor Commodity Data Summaries (CDS), Minerals Facts and Problems (MFP), and various USBM Information Circulars. In some cases, USGS mineral commodity specialists added previously unpublished or recently revised data to the historical statistics series.

The data in these worksheets are standardized to metric tons (t) and dollars per metric ton ($/t) to allow for data comparison among mineral commodities through time. During the 20th century, different units of measure were used: units varied between commodities and even within a commodity through time. Cement, for example, was originally reported in barrels, the industry standard for much of last century, from 1972 to 1990 in short tons, and was switched to metric tons in 1991. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, most commodities switched to metric units. However, some commodities are still reported in units that represent the physical state of the commodity (million cubic meters for helium, a gas) or an industry market unit (carats for diamonds).

Data are reproduced as they were published (after the necessary conversions) for production, shipments, imports, exports, reported and apparent consumption, stocks, and end uses. Blank cells in the tables indicate that data were not available or were withheld because the data were proprietary; blank cells are not zero. The worksheet notes accompanying each table indicate whether data were withheld or not available.

Apparent consumption is a calculated figure. The general formula for apparent consumption is as follows:

Apparent Consumption = Production + Imports - Exports ± (Stock Change).

However, in some instances, reported consumption (from industry sources) was directly recorded in MYB or MCS. If both apparent consumption and reported consumption are available, both are reproduced in these reports. When apparent consumption could not be calculated because of withheld data or unavailable data, it was estimated using Microsoft® Excel2.

End use for this application has been defined as the use of the mineral or material commodity in a particular industrial sector (for example, construction, containers and packaging, electronics, and transportation) or product (for example, automobiles, batteries, flame retardants, and soaps and detergents).

For most commodities, end-use data are industry reported and are published in the MYB. For several commodities, the end-use data are not available or are of limited reliability. In such cases, data are usually calculated by applying estimated end-use shares (percentages) by category, as reported in the Mineral Commodity Summaries, to apparent consumption. Otherwise, USGS mineral commodity specialists estimated end-use statistics using a variety of sources of information. Finally, for a limited number of commodities, no end-use data are available.

Unit value is a measure of the price of a physical unit of apparent consumption (in this case, a metric ton) in dollars. For a commodity whose apparent consumption is measured in a single physical form, such as copper metal, a simple price series may be used to estimate the unit value. For many commodities, apparent consumption measures more than one form of the commodity. The commodity chromium, for example, includes chromium metal, chromium ferroalloys, and chromite ore in its measurement of apparent consumption. Weighted averages were used in these cases, where the price of each form of chromium was weighted by the amount that each form contributes to apparent consumption. For many commodities, a price series was not available, but total value of exports, imports, and production was reported. Unit values were derived, in these cases, using the physical quantity data for exports, imports, and production. The notes that accompany each mineral commodity worksheet discuss the source of apparent consumption and unit value data and the assumptions made in estimating these data when they were not available from the references. Unit values in these tables are also reported in 1998 (constant) dollars, where the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers was used as the deflator. Constant dollars remove the effect of inflation on the unit value.

The data sources and methods for each mineral commodity are documented in a Microsoft® Word file that is embedded in each Microsoft® Excel workbook. By clicking on the Microsoft® Word icon located in the spreadsheet, the notes for the commodity will be shown. The tables and text are also available in PDF format. The notes, where appropriate, also provide a brief explanation of shifts or trends in the use of the commodity, anomalies in the data, or additional, relevant information. Finally, the notes also provide contact details for relevant USGS specialists.

In the end-use tables, each workbook contains three worksheets, accessed through the tabs that are located on the bottom left corner of the spreadsheet. These worksheets are labeled “end-use statistics,” “end-use graph,” and “end-use notes.” When the workbook is first opened, the “end-use statistics” tab is viewed, showing the detailed yearly end-use statistics for the commodity. By clicking on the “end-use graph” tab, a graphic displaying the statistics is shown. Clicking on the “end-use notes” tab displays the same worksheet notes embedded as a Microsoft® Word file. The tables, graph, and notes are also availale in PDF format.

Commodity Chapters

Since the release of Data Series 140 in 2005, the most recent supply-demand statistics have been appended annually. This version contains the most recent finalized data, for the year listed in the table below. The most recent estimated data may be found in the current Mineral Commodity Summaries.

Nonfuel mineral commodities - alphabetical index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

 

 

 

 

Commodity Supply-Demand Statistics End-Use Statistics
Format Update year Format Update year
Abrasives (manufactured)   XLSX 2020 NA
Abrasives (natural)-(discontinued- see garnet, industrial)   XLSX 2014 NA
Aluminum   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Agriculture and Fishery   XLSX 2015 NA
Antimony   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Arsenic   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Asbestos   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Barite   XLSX 2019 NA
Bauxite and alumina   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Beryllium   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Bismuth   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Boron   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Bromine   XLSX 2020 NA
Cadmium   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Cement   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Cesium   XLSX 2018 NA
Chromium   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Clays   XLSX 2020  
    Ball clay     included with Clays above PDF XLS 2003
    Bentonite     included with Clays above PDF XLS 2003
    Fire clay     included with Clays above PDF XLS 2003
    Fuller's earth     included with Clays above PDF XLS 2003
    Kaolin     included with Clays above PDF XLS 2003
    Miscellaneous clay and shale     included with Clays above PDF XLS 2003
Coal combustion products   XLSX NA
Cobalt   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Copper   XLSX 2018 PDF XLS 2003
Diamond (industrial)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Diatomite   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Feldspar   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Fluorspar   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Gallium   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Garnet (industrial)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Gemstones   XLSX 2019 NA
Germanium   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Gold   XLSX 2018 PDF XLS 2003
Graphite (natural)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Gypsum   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Hafnium   XLSX 2019 NA
Helium   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Indium   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Iodine   XLSX 2020 NA
Iron and steel   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Iron and steel scrap   XLSX 2019 NA
Iron and steel slag   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Iron ore   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Iron oxide pigments   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Kyanite   XLSX 2020 NA
Lead   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Lime   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Lithium   XLSX 2019 NA
Magnesium compounds   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Magnesium metal   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Manganese   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Mercury   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Mica (scrap, flake, and sheet)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Molybdenum   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Nickel   XLSX 2018 PDF XLS 2003
Niobium (Columbium)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Nitrogen   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Organics (nonrenewable)   XLSX 2015 NA
Peat   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Perlite   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Phosphate rock   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Platinum-group metals   XLSX 2020 NA
Potash   XLSX 2020 NA
Pumice and pumicite   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Quartz crystal (industrial)   XLSX 2017 NA
Rare earths   XLSX 2019 NA
Rhenium   XLSX 2019 NA
Salt   XLSX 2017 PDF XLS 2003
Sand and gravel (construction)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Sand and gravel (industrial)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Selenium   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Silicon   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Silver   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Soda ash (sodium carbonate)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Sodium sulfate   XLSX 2014 NA
Stone (crushed)   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Stone (dimension)   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Strontium   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Sulfur   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Talc and pyrophyllite   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Tantalum   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Tellurium   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Thallium   XLSX 2017 NA
Thorium   XLSX 2020 NA
Tin   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Titanium dioxide pigment   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2004
Titanium metal   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2004
Titanium mineral concentrates   XLSX 2019 NA
Tungsten   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Vanadium   XLSX 2020 PDF XLS 2003
Vermiculite   XLSX 2020 NA
Wollastonite   XLSX 2018 NA
Wood   XLSX 2015 NA
Zinc   XLSX 2019 PDF XLS 2003
Zirconium mineral concentrates   XLSX 2019 NA

 

NA Not Available
1 Also contributing to this series were Cyrus Berry, Melissa Crane, Thomas Goonan, and John Sznopek.
2Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Reference Cited

Mlynarski, K.W., 1998, Survey methods for nonfuel minerals:  U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 1998, v. 1, p. 1.1-1.4.

Recommended Citation Formats

Recommended citation format for the whole report:

Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., 2014, Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States (2016 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, accessed [Month day, year].

Recommended citation format for a chapter on supply-demand statistics:

U.S. Geological Survey, [year of last update for DS 140, such as 2014], [Mineral commodity, such as Gold] statistics [through year; last modified Month day, year], in Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States (2016 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, x p., accessed [Month day, year] at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/historical-statistics-mineral-and-mat….

example:
U.S. Geological Survey, 2017, Aluminum statistics [through 2015; last modified January 19, 2017], in Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States (2015 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, 4 p., accessed March 28, 2017 at...

Recommended citation format for a chapter on end-use statistics:

U.S. Geological Survey, [year of last update for DS 140, such as 2017], [Mineral commodity, such as Gold] end-use statistics [through 2003; last modified Month day, year], in Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States (2017 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, x p., accessed [Month day, year] at...

example:
U.S. Geological Survey, 2017, Nickel end-use statistics [through 2003; last modified September 1, 2005], in Kelly, T.D., and Matos, G.R., comps., Historical statistics for mineral and material commodities in the United States (2017 version): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 140, 3 p., accessed March 28, 2013, at...