Introduction

During the last 12 decades (1900–2020), the amounts of raw materials used in the United States have increased significantly due to economic development, technological innovations, and population growth. Data on materials are presented here to provide an overview of the annual quantities (measured in physical terms) required for the standard of living in the United States and to provide insights into the consumption trajectory that developing countries may follow. The consumption patterns driving the use of raw materials were analyzed through the lens of economic disruptions and expansions during this period, illustrating the linkages between the selected materials and economic development. These annual material inputs to the U.S. economy (excluding food or fuel) were also analyzed in a global context. The data used were gathered by various agencies and compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey; see the section at the end of the report, “Data Sources Used To Track Flows of Raw Materials Usage.”

U.S. Raw Materials

This study focused on raw materials, which can be grouped into four general categories: agricultural products, forestry products (wood products, paper and board, and recycled paper), nonrenewable organic materials (NROs), and nonfuel minerals (construction aggregates, industrial minerals, primary metals, and recycled metals). The overall magnitudes of the physical inputs to the U.S. economy from 1900 to 2020 are portrayed in figure 1. For the United States, the individual commodities contained in each of the four categories are listed in table 1 (tables 1–5 follow the References Cited). Table 2 provides the physical quantities used (in metric tons) of these raw materials on an annual basis by category. Materials use is presented by mass instead of monetary value to emphasize the physical rather than economic importance of each material.

A commodity is a raw material used in the production process to manufacture finished goods. It is measured as the quantity of material inputs to an economy, which are typically consumed by the industrial and manufacturing sectors. The data presented here represent the annual apparent inputs to consumption calculated as the sum of a given material’s domestic production, imports, and recycling, minus exports. The data cover raw materials that were ready for use directly by the domestic consumer or in the manufacture of products consumed domestically. The scope excludes materials contained in final goods such as vehicles and semifinal goods such as magnets. In an industrial economy where the volume of goods flowing into and out of the country is large, tracking the flow of materials embedded in imported or exported products presents challenges beyond the purview of this analysis. This report supersedes U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2017–3062 (Matos, 2017); it expands the period of study from 1900 through 2014 to 1900 through 2020 and discusses the U.S. data in a global context.

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

Raw materials and their products derive from natural resources that are either harvested or mined. These may be classified as renewable or nonrenewable resources. Renewable resources such as products from agriculture, fisheries, forests, and wildlife can regenerate, so long as they are not overharvested, overfished, or overhunted. Nonrenewable resources covered in this study include materials extracted from geologic deposits, including metals, industrial minerals, nonfuel oil and gas, and coal feedstock. In 2020, only 5 percent of the about 3 million metric tons (Mt) of new materials entering the U.S. economy were renewable; in 1900, 45 percent of the new materials were renewable (table 2). Of the cumulative amount of materials used from 1900 to 2020, more than half was used during the last 30 years.

The changes in the quantities of renewable and nonrenewable resources used during the period indicate that the United States has become increasingly dependent on nonrenewable materials to sustain its standard of living. The growth of raw materials use has implications for the availability of future resources and the condition of the natural environment, which is affected by the wastes, emissions, and dispersive losses associated with the use of nonrenewable resources (Wagner, 2002). Figure 2 illustrates the shift from renewable to nonrenewable materials.

U.S. Consumption by Category

The agricultural products category includes nonfood materials derived from plant products (such as cotton, flaxseeds, tobacco, and natural rubber), animal products (such as wool and leather), and fishery products (such as fishmeal used for fertilizers and other nonedible products used for pharmaceutical and ornamental purposes). The agricultural, wildlife, and fishery materials included in this category have been diminishing as a share of total consumption since 2000 to about 54 percent by mass in 2020, likely due to the increasing use of substitutes such as synthetic fibers for natural fiber and synthetic oils for natural oils and possibly due to an increased dependence on imported final or semifinal products (Wagner, 2002). This category is not significant by mass. The use of natural rubber represents one commodity in this group with a steady rise, accounting for 45 percent of this category in 2020. Natural rubber is used in aircraft and car tires, medical devices, and surgical gloves, among many other products.

The forestry products category includes nonfuel forest products such as paper and paperboard, recycled paper, and wood products. In 2020, about 66 percent of paper consumed in the United States was recycled. Since 1950, the quantity of wood products consumed in the United States has remained relatively constant. After the recession and the global financial crisis in 2007–09, there has been a steady growth in lumber, plywood, and other forestry products consumed in the United States, due in large part to the recovery of the housing and construction industries (Dezember, 2021). Also, because the recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused people to stay home and work from home, there was a building boom requiring more wood products in 2020 (Dezember, 2021).

The nonrenewable organic materials (NROs) category includes products derived from feedstocks of petroleum (including natural gas liquids), dry natural gas, and coal for nonfuel applications (such as carbon blacks, coke, and olefins). This category includes resins used in the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, and synthetic rubber; feedstocks used in the production of solvents and other petrochemicals; lubricants and waxes; and asphalt and road oil. Use of NROs emerged gradually in the early part of the twentieth century, accounting for 1.59 Mt in 1900 (table 2). It experienced nearly continual growth to 153 Mt in 1999. The quantity of NROs used in the United States declined during the global financial crisis but has since recovered, reaching nearly 150 Mt in 2020 (table 2). The use of NROs increased because of the development of new technologies and products that displaced more traditional materials. In some applications, synthetic fibers, plastic feedstocks, and lubricants replaced wood, metals and other mineral-based commodities because of cost advantages and more desirable properties (Wagner, 2002). Since the 1980s, the consumption of NROs per capita (per person) was similar to the combined metal consumption, ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 metric ton (t) per capita (table 3; fig. 3).

The metals category includes commodities ranging from antimony and aluminum to vanadium and zinc. It includes ferrous, nonferrous, and precious metals as well as specialty metals used for high-technology applications such as indium, gallium, and lithium. Consumption data are distinguished by source as primary and secondary (recycled) materials. Clean energy technologies, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, batteries, and other components, require materials including cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, silicon, and tellurium. In 2020, recycled metals accounted for nearly 40 percent of metals consumption by mass. Recycled metal flows maintained a steady level during the recession in 2007–09, despite slow recovery of the construction sector. The steel industry supports the U.S. manufacturing sector; by mass, it dominates the total consumption of metals. It has also become the most recycled material, followed by aluminum and lead. However, on a per capita basis, metals consumption reached a peak in 1950; since that period, metal use has been declining, revealing trends to lighter materials and the decline in manufactured goods that use these metals. The downward trend is more evident in primary metals, whereas the use of recycled metals remained steady through the study period.

The industrial minerals category includes materials for use in the agriculture, construction, chemical, and industrial sectors of the economy. A variety of nonfuel minerals belong to this category, such as barite for oil and gas drilling; lime for steelmaking; fertilizer materials such as nitrogen, phosphate, and potash; fluorspar for acid; salt for ice control and chemicals; and graphite used in high-temperature lubricants, brushes for electrical motors, friction materials, and battery and fuel cells (U.S. Geological Survey, 2021).

The material inputs to the economy include the massive flows of construction aggregates. On the basis of mass, the construction aggregates category, including crushed stone and construction sand and gravel, made up 86 percent of new nonfuel minerals used in the United States in 2020. A significant expansion in the use of aggregates coincided with the building of the Interstate Highway System that began in the mid-1950s. Construction aggregates are used in the extensive system of roads and highways in the United States. Although consumption in 2020 remained well below the peak in 2006 (table 2), demand for these commodities is expected to increase owing to increases in infrastructure construction activity such as upgrading airports and ports and repairing and reconstructing bridges and highways.

Overview of U.S. Consumption Flows

The materials use pattern illustrates the dynamic nature of needs for materials to support the U.S. economy at different stages of economic development. Early stages of economic development require the establishment of basic manufacturing, infrastructure, and communications, which stimulates job growth and increasing national income. As the economic conditions diversify, demand for new materials and industries changes the pattern of use of materials. Subsequently, as the economy matures, more emphasis is placed on the service sector—the portion of the economy that produces a service, including banks, computer services, communications, education, health, real estate, recreation, and retail sales. Services are not as directly dependent on nonfuel minerals, and economic growth becomes decoupled from the overall mineral consumption (Menzie and others, 2004).

In the early 1900s, the United States experienced economic expansion due to electrification, the use of internal combustion engines for transportation, and the increase in mass-production methods in different industries (Gordon, 2016). These industries required commodities like cement, lubricants, steel, and wood products. These materials resulted in the foundation of early infrastructure and a growing industrial manufacturing sector. Cement applications surged and were mainly used for concrete blocks and mortars for industrial buildings (van Oss, 2002). Cement accounted for 25 percent by mass of all the industrial minerals used in 1900. Technological advances in the transportation and manufacturing sectors required the use of lubricants, derived from petroleum, which accounted for 93 percent of primary petroleum use and 75 percent of NROs by mass. Steel was used widely in the early development of the country, representing 92 percent of all metals used and 12 percent of all metals and minerals used by mass in 1900. Steel demand increased owing to (1) the manufacturing of airplanes, automobiles, equipment for defense, industrial machinery, medical instrumentation, steel frames for buildings, and industrial consumer goods and (2) the construction of bridges, dams, factories, houses, and railroads (National Material Company, 2018). Wood products were widely used at the time for shelter, railroad tracks, utility poles (electricity and telephone), and the manufacture of furniture and paper.

The short- and medium-term trends of raw material use correlate with major economic and military events affecting the United States such as World War I, the Great Depression of the 1930s, and World War II (fig. 1). Military events in the first half of the twentieth century and the continuing expansion of the military-industrial complex resulted in postwar economic expansion, driven by consumer demand for car ownership and housing in cities and towns. The United States moved from independent farming and individual trade shops of the previous century to an industrial economy in the 1920s (Smiley, 2004). The urban infrastructure expanded with subways, tunnels, and skyscrapers requiring building materials such as aluminum, cement, copper, lead, and steel and needing relatively fewer wood products (Matos and Wagner, 1998).

Continuous growth in the United States took place from the mid-1940s to the 1970s. The drivers behind this economic growth were the construction sector and the large-scale expansion of a middle class demanding more and improved goods and services. The purchases of consumer goods increased alongside industrial processing and manufacturing, and a different mix of nonfuel minerals and materials was required to satisfy demand for cars, televisions, and household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines (Gordon, 2016). Metal use per capita increased to 0.72 t in 1950 from 0.14 t in 1900 (table 3; fig. 3).

Events like the oil embargo of the 1970s, the economic recessions of the 1980s and early 1990s, and the global financial crisis of 2007–09 affected financial and economic conditions and temporarily diminished the use of materials. The U.S. economy exhibited a slow but steady recovery from 2008 through 2019, although it had not yet reached the highest expansion level of 2006 by mass. The COVID-19 public health emergency caused an initial economic crisis and contraction of materials use per capita. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains and consumption of raw materials through 2020, and the effects may continue into the near future.

From 1991 to 2006, the United States experienced an extended period of economic prosperity and technological advancement with increasingly sophisticated defense systems, financial and media services, and telecommunications. The United States entered a computerized and modern world that was enabled by high-technology applications for commodities like silicon for semiconductors and solar energy industries; lithium for batteries in electric and hybrid vehicles and other electronics; titanium metal for aerospace applications; indium for electrically conductive films on flat-panel displays; and tantalum for capacitors in consumer electronics. These “minor metals” are often byproducts of processing of major metals and are critical for various technology applications that undergo unique and sophisticated processing to produce improved physical properties. Although these materials are not significant by mass, they are extremely important to a society driven by computers and telecommunication systems. The United States enjoyed an economic boom fueled by well-developed infrastructure and advancement in technology leading to the rise of the internet and mainstream adoption of electronics like personal computers, laptops, and cellphones. The needs continue to increase for materials that are lighter, function more effectively, and have unique features, such as gallium, indium, germanium, and graphite, among others. For metals, recycling technologies can provide “environmental benefits in terms of energy savings, reductions in the volume of waste, and reductions in emissions associated with the energy savings” (Matos and Wagner, 1998, p. 113).

During the twentieth century, per capita consumption of all materials increased almost sixfold—to reach the equivalent of over 12 t per capita in 2000—while the U.S. population increased only fourfold (table 3). In 2010 and 2020, the effects of the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic were reflected in per capita materials use (fig. 3). These events exposed the vulnerability of supply chains and risks of supply disruptions.

Global Comparison

To place the flows of materials in the United States in a global context, data on similar physical inputs to the global economy were compiled for the period 1970 through 2020. Selected types of raw materials produced in the world on a per capita basis are listed in table 4. The world production amounts of the materials in four categories—agricultural products, forestry products nonfuel minerals (except construction aggregates), and NROs—are presented in table 5, which lists the aggregated quantities (in metric tons) of these raw materials on an annual basis. The individual commodities contained in each of the four categories are displayed in figure 4. World totals in all categories include data for the United States. Construction aggregates were not included for this analysis because most countries outside the United States do not account for these materials, and there are no reliable statistical estimates. If the U.S. construction aggregates were included, they would represent about a third of the total global production by mass in 2020.

In the past 50 years, the growth of global resources has increased significantly, particularly owing to the rise of emerging market economies. In 2020, global flows reached about 9.3 billion metric tons (not including food or fuel), almost four times the materials consumed in 1970, whereas global population only doubled during the same period. The upward trend started slowly in the 1990s and accelerated around 2000 due to China’s expansion to become the second largest economy in the world, following the United States. China is a leading producer but even larger consumer of nonfuel minerals; the country accounted for about 18 percent of the world’s population in 2020 (World Bank, 2022). In contrast, the United States represents only 4 percent of the world’s population. Notably, the static level of raw materials use in the last five decades is primarily the result of two factors: (1) the United States has an industrialized economy where the basic infrastructure is in place and (2) the Nation is experiencing declines in the manufacturing sector, dependency on importing final or semifinal products, and a shift toward a service-based economy that is dependent on fewer materials.

The United States consumed about twice the world’s total materials production on a per capita basis by 2020 (fig. 5). The significant decrease in U.S. materials used per capita in 2009 was mainly due to the global economic recession. The driver behind the decline in the steel industry was reduced demand by the automotive industry (Fenton, 2011).

Modern societies are highly dependent upon energy and mineral resources to produce and deliver the material goods and services needed for everyday life. Global flows have increased considerably since 1970, and the continuation or acceleration of these trends could have long-term effects such as scarcity issues, unacceptable environmental impacts, and global equity issues (Rogich and Matos, 2008). On a per capita basis, however, the United States still leads the world in materials consumption.

Data Sources Used To Track Flows of Raw Materials Usage

The following is a list of data sources used for tracking the United States and global flows of raw materials:

Summary

Consumption of raw materials by the United States has risen in all commodity categories in absolute terms in the 120 years of the study due to economic development and population growth. The U.S. mining sector and mineral assets are major contributors to the economy and represent a vital foundation to the Nation’s wellbeing.

In a finite world, a holistic and detailed understanding of the physical flows of materials is relevant, and the U.S. Geological Survey supports this effort by collecting and analyzing mineral commodity data of the United States and other countries in the world.