WRI has developed a material flows accounting (MFA) database and associated protocols for collecting, analyzing, and presenting material flows data. The database systematically categorizes materials flowing through the U.S. economy, emphasizing transparency in documenting data sources and any assumptions made in estimating the flows. The ultimate goal for this activity is to see that the periodic compilation and dissemination of U.S. material flows accounts shifts from civil society to become an established function of the federal government.

Coverage

This pilot MFA database is designed to cover the physical resources entering the economy and follow them as they undergo successive physical and chemical transformations as they move through the material life cycle. More than 190 commodities are included (see a full list at http://pdf.wri.org/commodity_list.pdf).

The database is structured around a list of the primary commodities that drive the U.S. economy, covering five principal resource sectors: agriculture, forestry, non-renewable organic materials (e.g., fossil fuels), metals, and minerals.

The entire chain of materials that flow through the U.S. industrial economy is included, from primary inputs, or feedstocks, such as petroleum, salt, and industrial roundwood, to processed materials such as benzene, gasoline, chlorine, and lumber.

The database can be downloaded from the six Microsoft Excel workbooks listed below:

• National Summary Data (273 KB)

• Agricultural Commodity Flows (879 KB)

• Forestry Commodity Flows (156 KB)

• Metal and Mineral Flows (2,062 KB)

• Nonrenewable Resource Flows (473 KB)

• Infrastructure and Earth Moving Flows (107 KB)

Unless otherwise noted, data are in thousand metric tons. A description of the indicators and acronyms used in the National Summary Data can be found at http://pdf.wri.org/mfa_terms.pdf. The contents of the other five workbooks are described, along with a glossary of terms, at http://pdf.wri.org/workbook_contents_glossary.pdf.