Thread: California’s economy is booming

California’s economy is booming. That could change if US-China relations sour.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stare each other as they shake hands at the end of a joint press conference following their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Saturday, March 18, 2017. Tillerson arrived in Beijing on Saturday for his first face-to-face talks with Chinese leaders expected to focus on North Korea's nuclear program, trade and South China Sea territorial disputes. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
POSTED: 03/31/17, 12:57 PM PDT | UPDATED: 57 SECS AGO
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California and the nation both experienced solid economic growth last year, but uncertainties surrounding the Trump administration’s policies are making it difficult to predict where things are headed, according to a new report.

Beacon Economics’ forecast for the U.S. and California says President Donald Trump’s desire to enact a travel ban along with the administration’s hard-line positions on trade will have significant implications for California’s economy.

Foreign-born residents accounted for more than a quarter of the Golden State’s population in 2015 compared with 13 percent for the rest of the nation, the report says. And with a significant amount of U.S. trade passing through California ports — most notably the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — the state’s economy is “hard-wired to the rest of the world.”

SIMILAR CONCERNS WERE EXPRESSED IN A UCLA ANDERSON FORECAST RELEASED EARLIER THIS MONTH. THAT REPORT SAID CALIFORNIA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY WILL LIKELY SUFFER A “DOUBLE-WHAMMY” AS A RESULT OF THE NATION’S LESS FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS COMING TO THE U.S. AND FROM THE HIGHER VALUE OF THE DOLLAR WHICH MAKES U.S. MORE EXPENSIVE AND LESS ATTRACTIVE TO FOREIGN TOURISTS.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S PORTS ARE ON AN UPSWING

Trump’s plan to revamp U.S. trade policies with China and other nations could potentially curb the flow of goods passing through Southern California’s twin ports. But as it stands now, things are looking good.

“Close to 40 percent of the containerized goods that arrive in the U.S. from Asia come through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,” said Philip Sanfield, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles. “We had 8.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot, equivalent-unit containers) come through the Port of Los Angeles last year and that eclipsed a previous record from 2007. Cargo was up by 8.5 percent, international trade was up and exports have been increasing.”

Cargo arriving to the Port of Los Angeles from Asia was up 2 percent last year, Sanfield said, and the nationwide flow of Asian goods coming into the U.S. is predicted to increase by 6 percent barring any major policy changes or political upheaval.

“Our executive director travels to Washington, D.C. a few times a month and we’re watching things,” Sanfield said. “We’re going full steam ahead and dealing with the issues we can control.”

CALIFORNIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH SLOWED IN 2016

Robert Kleinhenz, Beacon’s executive director of economic research, notes in the forecast that California’s slower growth throughout 2016 mirrored that of the nation. But the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in January — its lowest level in 10 years.

California’s gross domestic product, the total value of all of the state’s goods and services, grew 3.3 percent during the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same period a year earlier.

A MIXED HOUSING OUTLOOK

The outlook for California’s housing industry is mixed, Kleinhenz said. Prices have been steadily rising but they remain below pre-recession peaks.

“Demand for homes has been sustained by low interest rates but has also been impeded by limited inventories, high underwriting standards and large down payment requirements,” he said in the report. “On the supply side, existing home sales have been well below their long run averages, while new home construction has been relatively weak since the recession.”

Demand for housing is strong and has been sustained by low interest rates, Kleinhenz said, but the market has been hampered by limited inventories, high underwriting standards and high down payment requirements.

The report also says California’s homeownership rate is at its lowest level in decades. That has driven an increasing number of Southern Californians into apartments and other rental units, pushing vacancy rates down.

A recent report from Bankrate.com ranked California as the toughest state for first-time homebuyers. The rankings are based on five major criteria — housing affordability, the job market for young adults, housing market tightness, credit availability and homeownership among the under-35 crowd.

Each category is weighted on a 1-10 scale with 10 being best and 1 being worst. California scored an anemic 1.25 in both housing affordability and housing market tightness and its score for homeownership among millennials was worse at just 1.17.

BEWARE THE “UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS”

On a broader level, the Beacon the forecast says several economic indicators show that the U.S. economy is gathering momentum. Industrial production estimates from the Federal Reserve have been rising since last fall, oil production has ramped back up to 9 million barrels a day and consumer spending and credit expansion continue to move forward.

Beacon predicts that the nation’s economy will grow by slightly less than 2.5 percent this year, although the range of variance around that estimate is widening. Uncertainty, the report said, is “the biggest issue” the nation is dealing with.

“The chaos within this administration leaves us, as forecasters, with little idea as to what might actually occur,” said Christopher Thornberg, a founding partner with Beacon Economics. “As we move through the year, beware the unknown unknowns.”

http://www.presstelegram.com/busines...relations-sour

Oh so your economy depends on ..... Chinese imports and foreign visitors many of whom never leave? Well, gee, you're on the wrong side of our coin, California.

California Trade Facts

U.S. Department of Commerce reported that, in 2016, California exports amounted to $163.6 billion. This is a decrease from the 2015 total of $165.4 billion. California maintained its perennial position as a top exporting state.

Exports from California accounted for 11 percent of total U.S. exports in 2016. California’s top export destinations are Mexico, Canada, China, Japan and Hong Kong. California trade and exports translate into high-paying jobs for over one million Californians.

Top Export Sectors
California is a top exporter in the nation of computers, electronic products, and sales of food and kindred products. Computers and electronic products are California’s top export, accounting for 26.1 percent of all the state’s exports.

According to a study conducted by Tech America in February 2014, California is the second largest tech exporting state after Texas.

Other top categories included transportation equipment, machinery, except electrical, and misc. manufactured commodities.

According to a study conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Endowment for the Arts using 2011 data, creative industries led by Hollywood employ 2 million people and add about $504 billion to the U.S. GDP.

Hollywood, Creative Industries Add $504 Billion to U.S. GDP
Associated Press, December 5, 2013

Mexico
Mexico continues to be California’s number one export market. California exports to Mexico slightly decreased to $25.3 billion in 2016, down from $26.8 billion in 2015. Mexico purchases 15.4 percent of all California exports.

California’s exports to Mexico are driven by computers and electronic products, which account for 21.7 percent of all California exports to Mexico. Other top categories included transportation equipment, machinery, except electrical, and chemicals.

Canada
Canada is California’s second largest export market, purchasing 9.9 percent of all California exports. In 2016, California exported over $16.2 billion to Canada.

Computers and electronic products remained California’s largest exports, accounting for 32.2 percent of all California exports to Canada.

Asia-Pacific
California is the largest exporting state to Asia. In 2016, California exported $68.7 billion in goods to the region.

Greater China
California exports to Mainland China totaled $14.4 billion in 2016. Computers and electronic products accounted for 29.9 percent of exports to China.

Exports to Hong Kong were $9.6 billion in 2016, maintaining Hong Kong’s spot as California’s number 5 export destination, just above South Korea.

Japan
California exports to Japan totaled $11.76 billion in 2016. Computers and electronic products accounted for 23.7 percent of total exports.

European Union
California exports to the European Union (2 totaled $29.7 billion in 2016. California is the top exporting state to Europe. Computers, electronic products, chemicals, transportation equipment, and miscellaneous manufactured commodities are our leading export sectors to the region. European Union countries purchase 18.2 percent of all California exports.

Export Totals from California



http://advocacy.calchamber.com/inter...de-statistics/

California trade and exports translate into high-paying jobs for over one million Californians.

But you have 12 million Californians on Medicaid.

http://californiahealthline.org/morn...beneficiaries/
These trade policies of the past aren't working. We must reverse these bad trade policies and get our country on track going in the right direction which means HIRE AMERICAN and BUY AMERICAN.

California Technology Industry Added More Than 48,500 Jobs in 2016

California’s manufacturing and recycling economy

April 7, 2017
Updated 7:24 a.m.

By DOROTHY ROTHROCK / Contributing writer

In this March 17, 2008 file photo, workers load a truck with rolls of newly produced recycled paper at The Weyerhaeuser Co. Hueneme Paper Mill in Oxnard, Calif.AP PHOTO/DAMIAN DOVARGANES

When “manufacturing” is mentioned, you likely picture a factory with products rolling off an assembly line. But there are many off-site functions that are not as obvious as a large plant in an industrial park.

One of these is recycling; manufacturers are the biggest consumers of material recycled from end-of-life products and industrial scrap.

In 2014, more than 135 million metric tons of outdated or obsolete scrap was transformed into raw materials, which were used to produce new products in the United States.

Scrap recycling is one of the world’s first green industries. It is a pivotal player in California’s environmental protection, resource conservation and sustainability.

Since the end-of-life products and industrial scrap are recycled, and are never destined for the landfill, scrap recycling supports our goal to keep 75 percent of all solid waste from going into landfills by the year 2020.

It also saves energy. Our climate change plan notes that “recycling of materials decreases upstream greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and processing of virgin materials.”

The energy we save by recycling can be used for heating our homes or powering our automobiles.

We need recyclers to stay in California. But they, like other manufacturers, are challenged by competition in global markets, need to find skilled workers and must comply with stringent regulations.

This year, the California Manufacturers & Technology Association is pushing for tax policies to encourage long-term investments in new equipment, and is requesting new funding for career and technical education.

We hope this growth agenda will support companies that make up the critical recycling infrastructure in California.

For example, Graphic Packaging International, an employer of over 500 people statewide, uses 100 percent recycled paper to produce its folding carton material. Its Santa Clara mill — one of California’s two remaining paperboard mills — is highly energy-efficient, cogenerating its own electricity and selling the excess power to the local utility.

In Fontana, the 240 highly skilled workers at Vista Metals use industrial aluminum scrap, in addition to their own recycled specialty aluminum. This allows them to manufacture a wide variety of aluminum products for aerospace, automotive and semiconductor firms.

This process assures that Vista Metals utilizes every bit of its product, and still guarantees the highest-quality aluminum for their customers.

Other metal recycling is done by Schnitzer Steel Industries, a global leader in the recycling industry with more than 20 auto and metals recycling facilities in California.

The processed recycled feedstock from these facilities is then sold to steel mills and foundries around the world, including its steel mill in Oregon.

Public health is protected by the recycling operations of Quemetco, the most advanced lead recycling facility in the world. The 240 employees in the City of Industry reclaim lead from used car batteries and other scrap at an impressive 98 percent recycling rate, to be used again in new cars. Keeping lead out of the environment and making it safely available for productive uses is Quemetco’s highest priority in California.

California’s environmental and economic leadership depends on improving the business climate for every plant and factory, including the recyclers we don’t often think about.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/m...mentioned.html

Is Canadian Oil Bound for China Via Pipeline to Texas?



@ https://www.alipac.us/f9/conservativ...er-tax-345780/