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The first two pages of this release are shown in plain text below.
A PDF version of the entire release is also available and the tables from this release are available in an XLS spreadsheet.
Also available: a brief summary of highlights.
For plain text copies of the tables, please visit the Census web site.
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United States Department of
COMMERCE NEWS
Washington, D.C. 20230
ECONOMICS
AND
STATISTICS
ADMINISTRATION
------------
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
This release contains sensitive economic
data not to be released before 8:30 a.m. Monday,
June 14, 2004
CB-04-92 Press Copy
BEA-04-27
FT-900 (04-04)
For information on goods contact:
U.S. Census Bureau:
Haydn R. Mearkle (301) 763-2246
Nick Orsini (301) 763-2311
For information on services contact:
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:
Technical: Christopher Bach (202) 606-9545
Media: Ralph Stewart (202) 606-9690
U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES
April 2004
Goods and Services
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the
Department of Commerce, announced today that total April exports of $93.9 billion
and imports of $142.3 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $48.3
billion, compared with $46.6 billion in March, revised. April exports were
$1.5 billion less than March exports of $95.4 billion. April imports were $0.3
billion more than March imports of $142.0 billion.
In April, the goods deficit increased $1.8 billion from March to $53.2 billion,
and the services surplus was virtually unchanged at $4.8 billion. Exports of goods
decreased $1.5 billion to $65.8 billion, and imports of goods increased $0.2 billion
to $118.9 billion. Exports of services increased $0.1 billion to $28.2 billion,
and imports of services increased $0.1 billion to $23.3 billion.
In April, the goods and services deficit was up $5.8 billion from April 2003.
Exports were up $12.6 billion, or 15.5 percent, and imports were up $18.4 billion,
or 14.9 percent.
Goods
The March to April change in exports of goods reflected decreases in capital goods
($0.6 billion); industrial supplies and materials ($0.4 billion); other goods
($0.3 billion); foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.2 billion); automotive vehicles,
parts, and engines ($0.1 billion); and consumer goods ($0.1 billion).
The March to April change in imports of goods reflected increases in capital goods
($0.5 billion); consumer goods ($0.5 billion); and other goods ($0.3 billion). A
decrease occurred in industrial supplies and materials ($1.0 billion). Automotive
vehicles, parts, and engines and foods, feeds, and beverages were virtually unchanged.
The April 2003 to April 2004 change in exports of goods reflected increases in
capital goods ($3.9 billion); industrial supplies and materials ($2.2 billion);
consumer goods ($1.4 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($0.4
billion); foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.3 billion); and other goods ($0.1 billion).
The April 2003 to April 2004 change in imports of goods reflected increases in
industrial supplies and materials ($5.2 billion); consumer goods ($4.2 billion);
capital goods ($3.4 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($1.9 billion);
foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.4 billion); and other goods ($0.3 billion).
Services
Services exports increased $0.1 billion from March to April. Increases in other
private services (which includes items such as business, professional, and technical
services, insurance services, and financial services), travel, passenger fares,
and royalties and license fees were partly offset by a decrease in other
transportation (which includes freight and port services). Changes in the other
categories of services exports were small.
Services imports increased $0.1 billion from March to April. Increases in direct
defense expenditures, other private services, and travel were partly offset by a
decrease in other transportation. Changes in the other categories of services
imports were small.
From April 2003 to April 2004, services exports increased $4.2 billion. The largest
increases were in travel ($1.8 billion) and other private services ($1.0 billion).
From April 2003 to April 2004, services imports increased $3.0 billion. The largest
increases were in travel ($1.0 billion), other private services ($0.7 billion), and
other transportation ($0.6 billion).
Goods and Services Moving Average
For the three months ending in April, exports of goods and services averaged
$94.0 billion, while imports of goods and services averaged $140.7 billion, resulting
in an average trade deficit of $46.7 billion. For the three months ending in March,
the average trade deficit was $45.6 billion, reflecting average exports of $92.3
billion and average imports of $137.9 billion.
Selected Not Seasonally Adjusted Goods Details
The April figures showed surpluses, in billions of dollars, with Hong Kong $0.6
(for March $0.7), Australia $0.5 ($0.6), Singapore $0.3 ($0.8), and Egypt $0.1
($0.2). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China $12.0 ($10.4),
Western Europe $10.1 ($10.1), the European Union $9.2 ($9.3), Japan $6.4 ($6.7),
Canada $5.7 ($4.9), OPEC $5.3 ($5.6), Mexico $3.2 ($3.9), Korea $1.7 ($1.4),
Taiwan $1.1 ($0.8), and Brazil $0.5 ($0.2).
Advanced technology products (ATP) exports were $16.4 billion in April and imports
were $19.5 billion, resulting in a deficit of $3.2 billion. April exports were
$2.6 billion less than the $19.0 billion in March, while imports were $0.8 billion
less than the $20.4 billion in March.
Revisions
Goods carry-over in April was $0.2 billion (0.3 percent) for exports and $0.7 billion
(0.6 percent) for imports. For March, revised export carry-over was virtually zero,
revised down from $0.2 billion (0.3 percent). For March, revised import carry-over
was $0.1 billion (0.1 percent), revised down from $1.1 billion (0.9 percent).
Goods and services exports and imports for the month of March and for all months
shown in this release reflect the incorporation of annual revisions to the goods
and services series in the U.S. international transactions accounts. See the
"Notice" in this release for a description of major revisions to goods and services
exports and imports.
NOTICE
In this release and the accompanying "U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services:
Annual Revision for 2003," the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis (BEA) are jointly publishing revised data on U.S. trade in goods for
1992-2003 and the first three months of 2004 and revised data on services for
1992-2003 and the first three months of 2004.
Goods
The 2003 not seasonally adjusted Census-basis goods data were revised to eliminate
monthly data that arrived too late for inclusion in the month of transaction but
that were included, initially, in the month in which the data were received. In
addition, corrections were made to previously published data. Once the redistributions
of data to the proper month of transaction and corrections were completed, factors
for seasonal adjustments and trading day adjustments were recomputed and the
seasonally adjusted current-dollar series were revised for 2001-2003 and the first
three months of 2004. Similar changes were made to the chain-weighted dollar series.
Beginning with this release, the U.S. Census Bureau and BEA are adjusting various
import and export petroleum and petroleum products series for seasonal variation.
The adjustments begin in 1992. The seasonally adjusted series contribute to a more
accurate picture of seasonally adjusted total imports and total exports. The BEA
will carry these adjustments through to the International Transactions Accounts and
the National Income and Product Accounts.
Services
The services estimates were revised for 1992-2003 and the first three months of 2004.
The revisions resulted from the incorporation of results from BEA's annual and quarterly
surveys and from other newly available and updated source data. Revisions from these
sources have an impact mostly on receipts and payments for other private services for
2002-2003 and the first three months of 2004.
In addition, BEA is introducing a definitional revision in the measure of insurance
services, which is a component of the measure of "other private services." The
revisions are for 1992-2003. The new measure more comprehensively measures insurance
services than the prior measure by including in the calculation the income on technical
reserves (owned by policyholders and held by insurance companies) used to reduce
policyholder premiums. That is, it treats the expected investment income on technical
reserves of insurance companies as being paid to policyholders, who then pay it to
insurance companies as a supplement to their premium payments to cover the full cost
of insurance. The change affects both exports and imports, although the change is much
larger for imports than exports. This revision accounts for most of the revision to
estimates of total services imports and total services exports in each year included
in this release.
Notice Regarding The European Union
On May 1, 2004, the European Union expanded from fifteen countries to twenty-five
countries. As a result, beginning with the May 2004 issue of the U.S. International
Trade in Goods and Service report, to be released on July 13, 2004, Exhibits 14 and
14a will be modified to include an additional line reflecting the new composition of
the European Union. For the remainder of 2004, the Exhibits will show the current
European Union composition as European Union (15) and the new composition as European
Union (25). With the release of January 2005 statistics, European Union (15) will be
eliminated and exhibits 14 and 14a will be redesigned.
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