The U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry: Economics of Plant Size and Utilization Projected to 1970

In 1965, the University of Nebraska entered into a contract with the Farmer Cooperative Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to analyze the conditions of supply, demand, price, and capacity of the nitrogen fertilizer industry in the United States, and to project these variables through 1970. This thesis is based on a report by the author which partially fulfilled the requirements of the contract. The purpose of this study was to present the historical trends in nitrogen fertilizer consumption, costs, and prices, and to project these trends through 1970 for each region of the United States. The primary contribution of the study is to estimate the effect of economies of plant size and utilization on costs and alternative pricing strategies. Advisor: Richard G. Wals