For 2009, the economic numbers don't lie. They paint the electrical wholesaling industry in subdued tones of grey and black, as many segments of the market are near record lows and will take most if not all of next year to recover. In some market segments and in some regions of the United States the recovery will take even longer.

That's the bad news. The good news is that some economists are adding some brighter colors to their palettes and are forecasting some improvement for the U.S. economy in 2010. The color swatch that may best define 2010's economic fortunes may be beige, as in nothing too exceedingly cheerful, but nothing as horribly bad as the last 12 months, either.

That being said, some great growth opportunities exist for those companies willing to stretch their market interests. As mentioned in this issue's cover story, federal stimulus dollars have sparked an explosion in construction and retrofit projects with federal buildings, dams and military bases. Some of this work will be in lighting retrofits, which is an enormous opportunity that goes far beyond the recent flurry of activity in government work. Construction and retrofit work in the educational and health-care market are worth a look, too. Don't expect too much from commercial buildings next year, because in most regional markets the demand just isn't there. A matter of concern on the commercial scene is a potential credit crisis in commercial loans that's scaring the heck out of some construction economists.

In this article, Electrical Wholesaling has collected economic data for the segments of the construction and industrial markets that will have the most impact on the electrical business in 2010. These data should prove more valuable than the general economic forecasts you find in the business pages of most newspapers, because those sources focus more on retail sales, consumer spending and macroeconomic information rather than on data that directly affect the electrical market.

First published in 2002, the National Factbook is intended to be a companion piece to Electrical Wholesaling's annual Market Planning Guide published each November. The Market Planning Guide provides sales data and key employment statistics readers can use to estimate the size of their local markets. This article takes a broader view to provide electrical distributors, independent manufacturers' reps and electrical manufacturers with national data on trends in construction, industrial spending and demographics.

• Copper Prices
• National Office Vacancy Rates
• Electric Utilities
• Purchasing Managers Index
• Institutional Construction
• AIA Work-on-the-Boards survey
• Electrical Contractor Employment
• Commercial Buildings
• Housing Inventory
• Total Construction
• Housing Starts
• Electrical Manufacturers' New Orders
• Machine-Tool Orders
• Capacity Utilization
• K-12 Enrollment
• Higher Education Enrollment

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