Trade Flows within the United States Nursery Industry in 2018

Abstract

This study is a continuation of the series of summaries by the Green Industry Research Consortium examining the regional trade flows in the U.S. nursery industry. This detailed analysis of green industry regional trade flows in eight U.S. regions compares 2018 data with those of the 2008 and 2013 national survey estimates of origin and destination (OD) information to sales data. Specifically, we discuss: 1) regional annual sales reported by the green industry firms in 2018, 2) the percentage distribution of OD trade flows by regions and states, 3) differences in the percentage distribution of OD trade flows during the 5-year period by region (2013 to 2018), and 4) differences in the percentage distribution of OD trade flows during the 10-year period by region (2008 to 2018) for both intra-state (within home state) and inter-regional (between states) trade flows. The OD trade flow results were compared with those of 2008 and 2013. The results show considerable changes in intra-state and inter-regional trade flows from 2013 to 2018. From 2008 to 2018, only the Southcentral region increased in the proportion of sales within the region. Implications for relevant green industry stakeholders are discussed.