America's 'booming' Christmas tree business: By the numbers (The Week)

New York ? Even in these tough economic times, Americans aren't skimping on Christmas

The economy may still be floundering. But the Christmas tree business is booming. According to new study by research firm IBISWorld, Americans will spend an estimated $3.4 billion on Christmas trees this year, the highest amount since 2007. Here, a brief guide, by the numbers, to this "booming" holiday business:

25 million
Real Christmas trees Americans will buy this year, according to IBISWorld's forecast

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$800 million
Estimated retail cost of those trees

10 million
Artificial trees Americans will buy this holiday season

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$2.6 billion
Estimated retail cost of those artificial trees

$3.4 billion
Total estimated Christmas tree spending this year

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3.1
Estimated increase, in percent, from last year's?Christmas tree spending

$3.51 billion
Amount Americans spent on Christmas trees in 2007

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$3.14 billion
Amount Americans spent on Christmas trees in 2008, when the global financial meltdown took a huge bite out of this seasonal industry

$36.12
Average cost of a real Christmas tree in 2010

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$64.61
Average cost of an artificial Christmas tree in 2010

80
Percent of all artificial trees that are manufactured in China

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6 to 9
Number of years an average family uses an artificial tree before throwing it away

7
Number of years it takes, on average, to grow a typical Christmas tree

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More than 100,000
People?who are employed either part-time or full-time in the Christmas tree industry

Sources: Bloomberg, Mental Floss, National Christmas Tree Association, Valley Breeze,?Washington Post

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