FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8:30 A.M. EDT FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2016 CB 16-98 BEA 16-27 FT-900 (16-04) U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis NEWS U.S. Department of Commerce * Washington, DC 20230 U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES NOTICE Revisions to Goods and Services In this release and in the accompanying “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: April 2016” release (FT-900), the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are publishing revised statistics on trade in goods and services for January 2013 to March 2016. The revised statistics will also be reflected in the “U.S. International Transactions: First Quarter 2016 and Annual Revisions” report and in the international transactions interactive database (www.bea.gov/iTable/index_ita.cfm), both to be released by BEA on June 16, 2016. This annual revision has not changed the overall trend in the goods and services balance. On an annual basis, the goods and services deficit was revised downward 3.5 percent for 2013, downward 3.6 percent for 2014, and downward 7.3 percent for 2015. The goods deficit was nearly unrevised for 2013 and was revised upward for 2014 and 2015; the services surplus was revised upward for all three years. Goods Revised statistics on trade in goods reflect 1) corrections and adjustments to previously published not seasonally adjusted statistics for goods on a Census basis, 2) recalculated seasonal and trading-day adjustments, and 3) newly available and revised source data on balance of payments (BOP) adjustments, which are adjustments that BEA applies to goods on a Census basis to convert them to a BOP basis. BOP adjustments are presented as net adjustments in this release. Services Revised statistics on trade in services reflect 1) newly available and revised source data primarily from BEA surveys, including the results of BEA’s benchmark survey on financial services, and from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the number of foreign residents traveling in the United States that resulted in revisions to exports of both travel and transport services, 2) a refinement to the methodology for estimating average expenditures by travelers, 3) revised seasonal adjustments, and 4) revised temporal distributions of quarterly source data to monthly statistics (see the information section on page A-4 of the FT-900). A preview of BEA’s 2016 annual revision of the international transactions accounts was published in the May 2016 Survey of Current Business (www.bea.gov/scb/toc/0516cont.htm). If you have questions, please contact BEA’s Balance of Payments Division at (InternationalAccounts@bea.gov). Changes to Country and Area Presentation With this release and the release of the accompanying FT-900, the area grouping “Newly Industrialized Countries” has been removed from all relevant exhibits, and Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan are presented in selected exhibits. These changes affect the following exhibits: * Exhibits 13, 15a, 18, 19, 19a, and 19b of the FT-900 Annual Revision * Exhibits 14, 14a, 16a, 19, 20, 20a, and 20b of the FT-900 * Exhibits 4 and 4a of the FT-900 Supplement New U.S. Census Bureau Report on Advance Economic Indicators On July 28, 2016, at 8:30 a.m., the Census Bureau will introduce a new release, “Advance Economic Indicators Report.” This summary level report will combine the release of advance statistics on trade in goods, which are currently presented in the “Advance Report: U.S. International Trade in Goods” release, with the release of new advance estimates for retail and wholesale inventories. With this new report, the Census Bureau will discontinue the current version of the “Advance Report: U.S. International Trade in Goods” release. The new report will: * Be released monthly, 25 to 29 calendar days after the close of the reference month. * Consist of three tables: o Table 1. U.S. International Trade in Goods by Principal End-Use Category, which presents levels and percent changes for the advance statistics on trade in goods by principal end-use categories. This table will include statistics for the reference month, the prior two months, and the same reference month in the prior year. For example, the July 28 release will include statistics for June 2016, May 2016, April 2016, and June 2015. o Table 2. Levels and Percent Changes for Inventories, which presents levels and percent changes for the advance estimates for retail and wholesale inventories. This table will include statistics for the reference month, the prior month, and the same reference month in the prior year. For example, the July 28 release will include statistics for June 2016, May 2016, and June 2015. o Table 3. Estimated Measures of Sampling Variability, which presents estimated measures of sampling variability for the advance estimates for retail and wholesale inventories. This table will include statistics for the reference month, the prior month, and the same reference month in the prior year. For example, the July 28 release will include statistics for June 2016, May 2016, and June 2015. * Contain both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted statistics and estimates. * Include statistics for international trade in goods on a Census basis by principal end-use category. * Not include statistics for trade in goods on a balance of payments basis or statistics for trade in services, which are both featured in the FT-900. * Include estimates for total retail inventories, for total retail inventories excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers, and for retail inventories for motor vehicle and parts dealers. * Include estimates for total merchant wholesale inventories excluding manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, for total merchant wholesale durable goods inventories, and for total merchant wholesale nondurable goods inventories. The release schedule for this report through December 2016 is: Statistical Month Date Day June 07-28-16 Thu July 08-26-16 Fri August 09-29-16 Thu September 10-26-16 Wed October 11-25-16 Fri November 12-29-16 Thu If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Census Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, as outlined below: International Trade Indicator Macro Analysis Branch Retail Indicator Branch (301) 763-2311 (301) 763-2713 (800) 549-0595, option 4 (800) 327-4389, option 1 (eid.international.trade.data@census.gov) (eid.retail.indicator.branch@census.gov) Wholesale Indicator Branch (301) 763-6856 (800) 327-4389, option 3 (eid.wholesale.indicator.branch@census.gov) To learn more about the FT-900 and other economic indicators the Census Bureau publishes, join the Economic Indicators Division for the “Investigating Economic Indicators” Webinar series. For more information, visit (www.census.gov/econ/webinar).