Last week’s Commerce Dept. GDP report: April 2016 was second-lowest April ever for electricity expenditures
Last week the Commerce Department published its estimate of the Gross Domestic Product through April. And the numerous components of the GDP.
Including consumer expenditures on everything from window coverings to spirits to flowers, seeds, potted plants to lotteries to dentists to ... electricity.
In April, consumption expenditures totaled 12,645.7 billion dollars, on an annual basis. About 12.7 trillion.
Expenditures on electricity were 177.6 billion dollars, again annualized. About 0.2 trillion.
Let's express expenditures on electricity as a fraction. One in seventy-one dollars was spent on electricity.
The other seventy dollars was spent on poultry, pleasure aircraft, prescriptions, pets, public transportation, parking, portfolio management, and all the other consumer goods and services.
Or let's express expenditures on electricity as a percent. One and four tenths of a percent was spent on electricity.
The other ninety-eight and six tenths of a percent was spent on tires, tools, televisions, toys, tobacco, taxis, tax prep, and all the other consumer goods and services.
Expenditures on electricity in April 2016 were a near-record low for April of any year.
The Commerce Department starting keeping detailed track of consumer expenditures back in 1959. April 2016 was the fifty-eighth April in the data.
Only April 2005, at 1.37 percent, had a lower percent spent on electricity. April 2016, at 1.40 percent, had the second lowest percent spent on electricity.
Expenditures on electricity have been relatively low in the last four years, 2013 - 2016, They were also relatively low in 2000, 2004 and 2005. Defined as no more than 1.45 percent of consumption expenditures in April of any of these years.
But they were significantly higher as recently as 2009, at 1.64 percent in April of that year. And they were much higher during most of the 1990s.
April 1997 was at 1.70 percent. April 1995 was at 1.75 percent. April 1993 was at 1.83 percent. And April 1991 was at 1.96 percent.
The aggregate amount expended by the electric and natural gas utility industry for Public Utilities Fortnightly subscriptions is slightly greater than one millionth of consumer expenditures for electricity and natural gas.
Steve Mitnick, Editor-in-Chief, Public Utilities Fortnightly
E-mail me: mitnick@fortnightly.com
