Lanterna Rally

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Published: 1992

Total Pages: 59

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This report discusses Phase 1 of a project to help the US Department of Energy determine the applicability of the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) database and the Longitudinal Research Database (LRD) for industrial modeling and analysis. Research was conducted at the US Bureau of the Census; disclosure of the MECS/LRD data used as a basis for this report was subject to the Bureaus̀ confidentiality restriction. The project is designed to examine the plant-level energy behavior of energy-intensive industries. In Phase 1, six industries at the four-digit standard industrial classification (SIC) level were studied. The utility of analyzing four-digit SIC samples at the plant level is mixed, but the plant-level structure of the MECS/LRD makes analyzing samples disaggregated below the four-digit level feasible, particularly when the MECS/LRD data are combined with trade association or other external data. When external data are used, the validity of using value of shipments as a measure of output for analyzing energy use can also be examined. Phase 1 results indicate that technical efficiency and the distribution of energy intensities vary significantly at the plant level. They also show that the six industries exhibit monopsony-like behavior; that is, energy prices vary significantly at the plant level, with lower prices being correlated with a higher level of energy consumption. Finally, they show to what degree selected energy-intensive products are manufactured outside their primary industry.