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Your Holidays are Numbered or XMAS- THE LEDGER

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« on: December 25, 2007, 04:33:18 am »

Your Holidays are Numbered
By David R. Butcher
Do you know how many fake Christmas trees in the U.S. are manufactured and imported from China, or the number of packages UPS expects to deliver worldwide every second on its peak day during the holidays? Warm up to some fun facts about this hectic time of the year.

COSTLY

$791.10
How much the average shopper is expected to spend this year on holiday merchandise, a $52.99 increase over last year
(Source: National Retail Federation’s 2006 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch)

$99.22
Average amount shoppers are expected to spend on themselves, taking advantage of sales and discounts

$360.15
Average that Americans spent the weekend after Thanksgiving, some 19 percent more than during the 2005 post-Thanksgiving weekend
(Source: National Retail Federation (via Advertising Age))

$27.1 billion
Value of total retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2005, 23 percent from the same quarter of 2004

$47.14
Average household spending on decorations expected this year, factoring in the lights, wreaths and inflatable Santa Clauses
(Source: BIGresearch)

$30.77
Amount people are expected to spend on Christmas cards (not including postage), with the average household sending some 26 Christmas cards

$91.83
Amount shoppers are expected to spend on food this Christmas (Mmmm, eggnog...)


LEAFY

31 million
Number of real Christmas trees Americans are expected to have bought this year
(Source: National Christmas Tree Association)

175,000
Number of real Christmas trees sold via e-commerce or catalogue and shipped mail-order

$485 million
Amount of money the United States' Christmas tree farmers received from tree sales in 2005
(Source: USDA Economic Research Service)

10 million
About how many fake trees were sold worldwide in 2003
(Source: National Christmas Tree Association)

$19.11
Amount shoppers will spend on flowers on average; poinsettias make up 83 percent of the holiday season's floral purchases
(Source: BIGresearch and the Society of American Florists)

One-half
Considering the popularity of potato latkes during Hanukkah, half of U.S. spuds were produced in Idaho and Washington last year.
(Source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)


BUSY (EMPLOYEE)

1.8 million
Number of people employed at department stores in December 2005
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)


116
Number of U.S establishments that primarily manufactured dolls and stuffed toys in 2004, employing 2,386 workers
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

723
Number of locations that primarily produced games, toys and children’s vehicles in 2004, employing 16,465 workers

$3.2 billion
Total value of shipments for dolls, toys and games by manufacturers in 2004

20 billion
Number of letters, packages and cards delivered by the U.S. Postal Service between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year
(Source: U.S. Postal Service)

1 million
About the number of packages delivered by the USPS every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2005

December 18
Day expected to be FedEx’s busiest of the year, with a total of 9.8 million packages moving through the FedEx Express and FedEx Ground networks
(Source: FedEx Corp.)

December 20
Day expected to be UPS's peak day, when UPS will deliver 240 packages every second through its worldwide ground and air network
(Source: UPS Corp.)

+2 million
Volume of pieces DHL expects to deliver across the U.S. on its peak day, also Dec. 20
(Source: DHL)

23 percent
Proportion of growth in inventories by U.S. department stores (excluding leased departments) between the end of August and the end of November 2005
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)


CHINESE

85 percent
Percentage of fake trees in the U.S. manufactured and imported from China
(Source: National Christmas Tree Association)

$605 million
Value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and August 2006
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

$639 million
Value of U.S. imports of stuffed toys (excluding dolls) from China between January and August 2006, making the Asian country the leader of origin for stuffed toys imported to the U.S.

Moreover, China was the leading country of origin for a number of popular holiday gifts that were imported, including the following: electric trains ($65 million), puzzles ($49 million), roller skates ($82 million), sports footwear ($215 million), golf equipment ($47 million) and basketballs ($30 million). China barely edged out Canada as the leading supplier of ice skates ($6.7 million versus $6.6 million), with Thailand ranking third ($4.9 million).


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ILLIGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM

Thus ye may find in thy mental and spiritual self, ye can make thyself just as happy or just as miserable as ye like. How miserable do ye want to be?......For you GROW to heaven, you don't GO to heaven. It is within thine own conscience that ye grow there.

Edgar Cayce

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