Gross Domestic Product Recent Trends for Several Countries

The graph below was created using Google’s Chart Tools.

The graph shows changes from 2008 to 2010 in gross domestic product (GDP) in US dollars for 13 countries. Next to the country’s name in the legend is the GDP percentage increase from 2008 to 2010. Four countries (Japan; Germany; Russia; and Mexico) had a decrease in GDP from 2008 to 2010. Three countries (China; India; and Indonesia) had double digit increases.

China stands out because not only did it have the largest percentage increase but it also started from a base GDP ($8.204 trillion in 2008) more than double the amount of the next highest GDP percentage increased country (India; 16% increase; base = $3.478 trillion).

Data from the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Book Click here to go to this source.

US-Produced vs. Non-US Produced Products Used Domestically

The horizontal bar graph below was created using Google’s Chart Tools.

The graph shows, for 10 products used in the United States, the percentage of the product used that was produced in the United States versus the percentage used produced outside of the United States.

For seven products, more than 50% of the product used in the United States was produced outside the United States. The data is based on production and trade statistics provided by the US Census Bureau and is for the years 2008, 2009, or 2010.

To obtain the domestic use percentage, the formula (domestic production – exports) + imports = domestic use was used for each product. Data for domestic production (e.g. value of product shipped), value of exports, and value of imports can be found at the Census Bureau website. Using this data, domestic use was calculated using the formula.

For % of product produced in US, the formula (domestic production – exports)/domestic use was used. And, for % of product non-US produced, the formula imports/domestic use was used.

Click here and here to find the data used in the formula.

Price Changes of Commodities from 2006 to 2010

The graph below was created using Google’s Chart Tools.

The graph shows how price (cost) data can be used to show on one graph what commodities are priced more in 2010 compared to the price of the commodity in 2006. This is not easily done, as far as I can determine, because each commodity’s price per unit is given in different unit measurements (e.g. ounces, pounds, etc.) and only one unit measurement is graphable on a single graph. One way around this unit problem is to convert the average price for a year into a percentage of the total of average prices for all years. For example, the total of all average unit prices for gold for the years 2006 to 2010 was $4,391 per ounce so that the average price of gold for 2006 ($598/ounce) as a percentage of the total for all years is 14% (598/4391).

The graph shows that the only commodity price (cost) for any of the commodities that was less in 2010 than in 2006 is the price of natural gas.

Gross Profit Margin Percentages for 11 Business Sectors

The graph below was created using Google’s chart tool.

The vertical bar graph shows the gross profit margin percentage for 11 business sectors.

The data used to create the graph was taken from Internal Revenue Service statistics on form 1120s-filed corporate returns for 2008. This data can be viewed on the IRS report “2008 Statistics of Income – Corporation Income Tax Returns” by clicking here (PDF file). Business receipts were used for sales. The gross profit margin percentages were computed by subtracting the cost of goods sold reported on the 1120s from the business receipts and dividing that result by the business receipts. Data was used only for corporations reporting a positive net income.

The percentages are for all size companies and all subsectors, so represent an approximate benchmark average that companies can use to compare their own gross profit margin percentages to somewhat similar companies. Subsectors exist for some of the sectors, so a more similar company comparison might be available.

The graph indicates that for many sectors salaries and wages are not accounted for as cost of sales and therefore gross profit margin percentages are much higher than for those sectors where inventory sales is significant.

Relative State Sales Tax Rates

The map chart below was created using Google’s Chart tools.

The chart shows by color the relative sales tax rates for each state. The states in white (Alaska; Delaware; Montana; New Hampshire; and Oregon) have no sales tax. The state in black (California; 8.25 %) has the highest sales tax rate. States with darker colors (from white to black) have higher sales tax rates. The sales tax rates used to create the chart do not include local jurisdiction sales taxes, which several states do have.

The average tax rate for all states is 5.1 %. Twenty one states have rates less than the average and twenty-nine higher than the average. The median (tax rate in the middle) is 6 %.

Click here to see state sales tax data used in the chart. This data is at the Tax Foundation website. Click here to go to a Wikipedia site with information on state sales taxes.