Thread: California exports up to $13.2 BILLION (Per month)

California exports up to $13.2 billion

Posted at 07:16 PM on Tuesday, Jul. 12, 2011
By Mark Glover / The Sacramento Bee

California exporters are proving resistant to assorted ailments battering the state's economy.

The value of California merchandise exports in May totaled $13.2 billion, up about 10.5% from $11.95 billion in May last year, according to an analysis of Tuesday's U.S. Commerce Department trade figures by Beacon Economics, a consultant with offices in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Nationally, the U.S. trade deficit surged in May to its highest level in more than 21/2 years, pushed by a spike in oil imports.

But in California, May marked the 19th consecutive month of year-over-year growth in exports.

"Adjusting for inflation, California's export trade is as robust as it was prior to the recession," said Jock O'Connell, Beacon's international trade adviser.

Exports were up in multiple segments year-over-year.

Manufactured exports rose 6.1%, and nonmanufactured exports (mostly raw materials and agricultural products) spiked by 24.2%. Re-exports jumped 17.2%.

Mexico was easily the state's top export market in May, with shipments valued at more than $2 billion. Other top markets included Canada ($1.4 billion), China ($1.2 billion) and Japan ($1.1 billion).

Beacon forecast sustained improvement during the second half of this year, when the pace of foreign trade historically picks up.

"With the dollar as cheap as it is, California as well as other U.S. goods are selling at bargain prices on the world market," O'Connell said.

O'Connell also noted that recent declines in oil and gas prices should help California-based exporters looking to keep their transportation costs in line.

California imports in May totaled $28.72 billion, up more than 7% from about $26.8 billion in May last year. Some goods entering California go to other states, so exports are considered a more accurate measure of the state's trade health.

Still, O'Connell pointed out that "moving imported goods to markets throughout the nation represents a vital source of jobs, many of them well-paying, in a state where unemployment rates remain perilously high."

Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit increased 15.1% to $50.2 billion from April to May, the largest imbalance since October 2008.

The Commerce Department said U.S. exports of goods and services totaled $174.9 billion in May, down 0.5% from April.

U.S. imports totaled $225.1 billion, up 2.6% from April. Petroleum imports rose 10.3% to $39.8 billion in May, a month when the average price of crude was nearly $109 a barrel.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/07/12/246 ... llion.html

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