Detailed material flow accounts (physical supply-use tables)

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National Accounts, Climate and Environment, Economic Statistics
Ole Gravgård Pedersen
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Detailed material flow accounts (physical supply-use tables) 2020

The purpose of the detailed material flow accounts is to shed light on the type and quantity of all materials linked to industries, private and government consumption, etc.

The accounts can be used for analysis of the physical proportions of resource use, output of goods and residuals, external trade, etc. Thereby they give information, which are useful in relation to analysis of circular economy, etc.

The accounts are available for 2018 and 2020. Not all data are fully comparable across the two years due to changes in data sources and introduction of new methods.

Statistical presentation

The accounts present information about flows of natural resources, goods and residuals (waste and emissions to air, etc.) measured as tonnes per year. The accounts include all type of materials, which are used or supplied.

The flows are recorded by industries and other categories, e.g. extraction from nature, imports, exports, private and government consumption, emissions to the environment, etc.

The accounts are balanced, which means that the quantity of materials used by an industry equals the quantity of materials, that leaves the industry as sold products and residuals.

Statistical processing

The accounts are based on several sources, for instance, International Trade in Goods, Purchases by Manufacturing Industries, National accounts, and Environmental-Economic Accounts supplemented by data from e.g. the Danish Environmental Protection Agency and websites and organizations and companies.
The primary data are processed and supplemented by estimations and allocations, after which they are organised in a so-called physical supply-use table. Finally, this table is adjusted in such a way that supply equals use.

Relevance

The accounts are of relevance to all, who are interested in information about those physical material flows that take place in relation to the Danish economy. It can be used as a basis for analysis of the circular economy, e.g. for analysis of which industries that use or produce certain types of materials.

Accuracy and reliability

In general it can be assumed that there are less uncertainties associated with data obtained directly from primary statistics, while data that results from estimations and allocations will be associated with more uncertainties.

The balancing item, which is represented in the accounts, is to some extent a result of inaccuracies related to other items in the accounts. However, it cannot directly be used as a measure of the uncertainties, since it may also reflect other special relations.

No estimations of the magnitude of the uncertainties have been made.

Timeliness and punctuality

The accounts for 2020 have been published 4 years and three months after the end of the reference year (2020). The accounts are published without delay compared to the announced time of publication in the release calendar.

Comparability

The accounts are available for 2020 and 2018, and in an earlier version for 2016. The versions are not fully comparable due to changes in source data and methods.

This type of accounts is - as far as we know - only available for the Denmark and the Netherlands, but with different classifications. Thus, it is not possible to make direct international comparisons.

For certain items it is possible to compare over time and with other countries by looking at the primary data that lie behind the accounts.

Accessibility and clarity

These statistics are published in the StatBank under the subject Detailed material flow accounts. Selected items from the accounts are published in Danish publications.