News Release
These data have been superseded. Please see our latest releases for current estimates and contact information.
Gross Domestic Product, 3rd quarter 2010 (second estimate) | Corporate Profits, 3rd quarter 2010 (preliminary estimate)
Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2010,
(that is, from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the "second" estimate released by
the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.7 percent.
The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available
for the advance estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.0
percent (see "Revisions" on page 3).
The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment,
exports, and federal government spending that were partly offset by a negative contribution from
residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
The acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected a sharp deceleration in
imports and accelerations in private inventory investment and in PCE that were partly offset by a
downturn in residential fixed investment and decelerations in nonresidential fixed investment and in
exports.
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FOOTNOTE.--Quarterly estimates are expressed at seasonally adjusted annual rates, unless otherwise
specified. Quarter-to-quarter dollar changes are differences between these published estimates.
Percent changes are calculated from unrounded data and are annualized. Real estimates are in
chained (2005) dollars. Price indexes are chain-type measures.
This news release is available on BEAs Web site along with the Technical Note and Highlights
related to this release.
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Motor vehicle output added 0.56 percentage point to the third-quarter change in real GDP after
subtracting 0.06 percentage point from the second-quarter change. Final sales of computers added 0.27
percentage point to the third-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.03 percentage point to the
second-quarter change.
The price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents,
increased 0.8 percent in the third quarter, the same increase as in the advance estimate; this index
increased 0.1 percent in the second quarter. Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for gross
domestic purchases increased 0.6 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 0.8 percent
in the second.
Real personal consumption expenditures increased 2.8 percent in the third quarter, compared
with an increase of 2.2 percent in the second. Real nonresidential fixed investment increased 10.3
percent, compared with an increase of 17.2 percent. Nonresidential structures decreased 5.7 percent,
compared with a decrease of 0.5 percent. Equipment and software increased 16.8 percent, compared
with an increase of 24.8 percent. Real residential fixed investment decreased 27.5 percent, in contrast to
an increase of 25.7 percent.
Real exports of goods and services increased 6.3 percent in the third quarter, compared with an
increase of 9.1 percent in the second. Real imports of goods and services increased 16.8 percent,
compared with an increase of 33.5 percent.
Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment increased 8.9 percent
in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 9.1 percent in the second. National defense increased
8.5 percent, compared with an increase of 7.4 percent. Nondefense increased 9.5 percent, compared
with an increase of 12.8 percent. Real state and local government consumption expenditures and gross
investment increased 0.8 percent, compared with an increase of 0.6 percent.
The change in real private inventories added 1.30 percentage points to the third-quarter change in
real GDP, after adding 0.82 percentage point to the second-quarter change. Private businesses increased
inventories $111.5 billion in the third quarter, following increases of $68.8 billion in the second quarter
and of $44.1 billion in the first.
Real final sales of domestic product -- GDP less change in private inventories -- increased 1.2
percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 0.9 percent in the second.
Gross domestic purchases
Real gross domestic purchases -- purchases by U.S. residents of goods and services wherever
produced -- increased 4.2 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 5.1 percent in the
second.
Gross national product
Real gross national product -- the goods and services produced by the labor and property
supplied by U.S. residents -- increased 2.3 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.8
percent in the second. GNP includes, and GDP excludes, net receipts of income from the rest of the
world, which decreased $5.4 billion in the third quarter after increasing $3.7 billion in the second; in the
third quarter, receipts increased $7.7 billion, and payments increased $13.1 billion.
Current-dollar GDP
Current-dollar GDP -- the market value of the nation's output of goods and services -- increased
4.8 percent, or $171.5 billion, in the third quarter to a level of $14,750.2 billion. In the second quarter,
current-dollar GDP increased 3.7 percent, or $132.3 billion.
Revisions
The second estimate of the third-quarter increase in real GDP is 0.5 percentage point, or $16.7
billion, higher than the advance estimate issued last month, primarily reflecting upward revisions to
personal consumption expenditures, to exports, and to state and local government spending that were
partly offset by a downward revision to private inventory investment.
Advance Estimate Second Estimate
(Percent change from preceding quarter)
Real GDP.................................... 2.0 2.5
Current-dollar GDP.......................... 4.2 4.8
Gross domestic purchases price index........ 0.8 0.8
Corporate Profits
Profits from current production (corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital
consumption adjustments) increased $44.4 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of
$47.5 billion in the second quarter. Current-production cash flow (net cash flow with inventory
valuation adjustment) -- the internal funds available to corporations for investment -- decreased $57.8
billion in the third quarter, in contrast to an increase of $61.1 billion in the second.
Taxes on corporate income increased $31.8 billion in the third quarter, compared with an
increase of $2.4 billion in the second. Profits after tax with inventory valuation and capital consumption
adjustments increased $12.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $45.2 billion in
the second. Dividends increased $8.2 billion compared with an increase of $8.1 billion; current-
production undistributed profits increased $4.4 billion, compared with an increase of $37.1 billion.
Domestic profits of financial corporations increased $33.3 billion in the third quarter, in contrast
to a decrease of $3.4 billion in the second. Domestic profits of nonfinancial corporations increased
$18.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $48.2 billion in the second. In the third
quarter, real gross value added of nonfinancial corporations decreased, and profits per unit of real value
added increased. The increase in unit profits reflected a larger increase in unit prices than in the unit
labor costs and the unit nonlabor costs corporations incurred.
The rest-of-the-world component of profits decreased $7.5 billion in the third quarter, in contrast
to an increase of $2.8 billion in the second. This measure is calculated as (1) receipts by U.S. residents
of earnings from their foreign affiliates plus dividends received by U.S. residents from unaffiliated
foreign corporations minus (2) payments by U.S. affiliates of earnings to their foreign parents plus
dividends paid by U.S. corporations to unaffiliated foreign residents. The third-quarter decrease was
accounted for by a larger increase in payments than in receipts.
Profits before tax increased $76.3 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $15.3
billion in the second. The before-tax measure of profits does not reflect, as does profits from current
production, the capital consumption and inventory valuation adjustments. These adjustments convert
depreciation of fixed assets and inventory withdrawals reported on a tax-return, historical-cost basis to
the current-cost measures used in the national income and product accounts. The capital consumption
adjustment increased $1.4 billion in the third quarter (from -$170.7 billion to -$169.3 billion), in contrast
to a decrease of $0.8 billion in the second. The inventory valuation adjustment decreased $33.2 billion
(from -$3.5 billion to -$36.7 billion), in contrast to an increase of $32.9 billion.
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BEA's national, international, regional, and industry estimates; the Survey of Current Business; and
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Next release December 22, 2010, at 8:30 A.M. EST for:
Gross Domestic Product: Third Quarter 2010 (Third Estimate)
Corporate Profits: Third Quarter (Revised)
Release dates in 2011
Gross Domestic Product
2010: IV and 2010 annual 2011: I 2011: II 2011: III
Advance.... January 28 April 28 July 29 October 27
Second..... February 25 May 26 August 26 November 22
Third...... March 25 June 24 September 29 December 22
Corporate Profits
Preliminary... ....... May 26 August 26 November 22
Revised....... March 25 June 24 September 29 December 22