WorldCity, Six-month report: Trade is up but volatility abounds | Connecting Local Business Leaders To The Global Economy

Six-month report: Trade is up but volatility abounds

September 8th, 2006

Georgia’s trade with the world increased 13 percent through the first six months of the year, but underneath that solid growth is a surprising amount of volatility, according to the latest U.S. Census data.

What hasn’t changed is that Georgia, led by the seaports in Savannah and Brunswick and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, is the No. 11 ranked Customs district in the nation.

Rank	Total Trade	June 2006 YTD	June 2005 YTD	Dollar Change	Percent Change
	World Total	$39,142,119,106	$34,625,093,872	$4,517,025,234	13.05%
1	China	$6,803,627,551	$5,359,246,829	$1,444,380,722	26.95%
2	Japan	$4,141,165,455	$4,033,100,298	$108,065,157	2.68%
3	Germany	$3,574,449,092	$3,051,131,661	$523,317,431	17.15%
4	South Korea	$2,299,430,743	$2,133,323,494	$166,107,249	7.79%
5	United Kingdom	$2,063,178,341	$1,914,111,727	$149,066,614	7.79%
6	Ireland	$1,282,073,691	$1,215,653,179	$66,420,512	5.46%
7	Australia	$1,220,232,988	$1,070,125,114	$150,107,874	14.03%
8	Italy	$1,197,148,461	$1,125,686,933	$71,461,528	6.35%
9	Taiwan	$1,172,720,180	$985,391,511	$187,328,669	19.01%
10	Malaysia	$1,125,172,065	$1,610,145,409	$(484,973,344)	-30.12%
11	France	$932,213,526	$802,787,782	$129,425,744	16.12%
12	Netherlands	$902,273,220	$1,316,545,041	$(414,271,821)	-31.47%
13	Singapore	$777,645,502	$634,738,638	$142,906,864	22.51%
14	Belgium	$679,602,623	$712,498,979	$(32,896,356)	-4.62%
15	Thailand	$672,318,664	$618,953,894	$53,364,770	8.62%
16	Indonesia	$601,928,980	$480,021,515	$121,907,465	25.40%
17	Sweden	$562,140,704	$655,668,888	$(93,528,184)	-14.26%
18	Spain	$547,049,998	$465,247,571	$81,802,427	17.58%
19	Brazil	$530,629,987	$388,126,950	$142,503,037	36.72%
20	Trinidad and Tobago	$519,580,766	$481,343,325	$38,237,441	7.94%
21	Hong Kong	$426,705,069	$430,829,551	$(4,124,482)	-0.96%
22	Turkey	$414,271,412	$199,694,156	$214,577,256	107.45%
23	India	$405,970,211	$314,563,644	$91,406,567	29.06%
24	Switzerland	$397,405,475	$255,079,845	$142,325,630	55.80%
25	Mexico	$372,335,289	$180,270,432	$192,064,857	106.54%

Some highlights from WorldCity’s analysis of the Census data for the first six months of 2006:
—Trade with manufacturing giant Malaysia is off 30 percent through the first six months while trade with the Netherlands, the European shipping hub, is off 31 percent. Malaysia dropped from its perch as Georgia’s No. 6 ranked trade partner to No. 10 while the Netherlands slipped five slots to No. 12.
—On the other side, Georgia’s trade with three nations has more than doubled in the first six months of the year: Turkey (107 percent), Mexico (107 percent) and Russia (185 percent).
—When looking at Georgia’s exports to the world, a 62 percent decline in telephone equipment has led to its drop from the top export to No. 7. The new No. 1 through the first half of the year, up from No. 2 in 2005 and No. 6 just three years before, is regional jet parts, up 46 percent.
—Among the top 11 exports, all are up or down more than 20 percent.
—Exports of cotton, motor vehicles for transporting people and motor vehicles for transporting goods all showed big gains through June.
—All told, exports grew $1.6 billion through the first six months while imports jumped $2.9 billion, widening the state’s trade deficit to $11.9 billion on total trade of $39 billion.
—Among imports, computers, refined petroleum and regional jet parts experienced the most rapid growth, while telephone equipment declined almost 50 percent.

Rank		Jan.-June 2006	Jan.-June 2005	Dollar Change	Percent Change
	Total, All Exports	$13,621,777,301	$12,064,063,653	$1,557,713,648	12.91%
1	Regional jet parts	$988,435,907	$676,871,202	$311,564,705	46.03%
2	Motor vehicles for transporting people	$596,749,255	$396,716,072	$200,033,183	50.42%
3	Aircraft parts	$510,114,320	$380,970,891	$129,143,429	33.90%
4	Cotton, not carded or combed	$466,905,377	$295,078,908	$171,826,469	58.23%
5	Chemical woodpulp	$460,697,104	$365,414,155	$95,282,949	26.08%
6	Motor vehicles for transporting goods	$425,684,634	$265,558,158	$160,126,476	60.30%
7	Electric equipment for line telephony	$389,299,633	$1,030,591,538	$(641,291,905)	-62.23%
8	Medical instruments for surgeons, dentists, vets	$388,875,100	$305,671,794	$83,203,306	27.22%
9	Aircraft	$362,096,415	$432,107,264	$(70,010,849)	-16.20%
10	Computers	$353,808,264	$286,440,493	$67,367,771	23.52%
11	Optical fibers	$309,494,198	$391,940,868	$(82,446,670)	-21.04%
12	Kaolin clays	$242,304,310	$233,636,043	$8,668,267	3.71%
13	Computer parts	$216,413,553	$212,221,577	$4,191,976	1.98%
14	Polyethers, expoxides and polyesters, primary forms	$195,725,972	$200,179,396	$(4,453,424)	-2.22%
15	Electric capacitors	$188,827,391	$134,212,674	$54,614,717	40.69%
16	Motor vehicle parts	$159,775,444	$143,086,872	$16,688,572	11.66%
17	Unocated kraft paper, paperboard	$158,255,675	$143,909,568	$14,346,107	9.97%
18	Poultry, fresh, chilled or frozen	$156,188,183	$138,967,649	$17,220,534	12.39%
19	Medicine	$145,827,137	$86,208,550	$59,618,587	69.16%
20	Certain heterocyclic compounds	$133,769,276	$150,829,950	$(17,060,674)	-11.31%
21	Yachts and other boats	$132,252,034	$173,881,583	$(41,629,549)	-23.94%
22	Electronic integrated circuits	$119,112,081	$83,691,132	$35,420,949	42.32%
23	Human blood, animal blood, plasma, vaccines	$118,464,023	$72,072,789	$46,391,234	64.37%
24	Harvest machines for egg cleaning, parts	$117,063,225	$95,106,312	$21,956,913	23.09%
25	Heterocyclic chemical compounds	$110,590,218	$132,662,094	$(22,071,876)	-16.64%

Rank		Jan.-June 2006	Jan.-June 2005	Dollar Change	Percent Change
	Total, All Imports	$25,520,341,805	$22,561,030,219	$2,959,311,586	13.12%
1	Motor vehicles for transporting people	$2,496,098,574	$2,293,266,774	$202,831,800	8.84%
2	Medicine	$1,065,295,388	$1,037,570,749	$27,724,639	2.67%
3	Computers	$861,220,411	$587,745,922	$273,474,489	46.53%
4	Self-propelled heavy construction machinery	$792,788,092	$634,975,033	$157,813,059	24.85%
5	Oil, not crude	$601,271,135	$418,850,775	$182,420,360	43.55%
6	Motor vehicle parts	$560,947,749	$530,703,854	$30,243,895	5.70%
7	Electric equipment for line telephony	$559,273,107	$1,108,985,494	($549,712,387)	-49.57%
8	Transmission apparatus for cellular phones	$533,627,891	$431,655,504	$101,972,387	23.62%
9	Petroleum gases, other gaseous hydrocarbons	$521,799,811	$381,100,957	$140,698,854	36.92%
10	Furniture, parts	$495,789,057	$391,734,077	$104,054,980	26.56%
11	Regional jet parts	$431,522,293	$265,444,212	$166,078,081	62.57%
12	Exports of repaired imports Imports of returned exports	$341,965,964	$308,432,717	$33,533,247	10.87%
13	Computer parts	$321,221,614	$243,828,768	$77,392,846	31.74%
14	Seats, excluding barber, dental	$295,870,273	$234,954,769	$60,915,504	25.93%
15	Taps, cocks and valves for pipes, tanks	$248,125,405	$182,581,419	$65,543,986	35.90%
16	Saws, drills and other hand tools	$247,285,839	$214,205,185	$33,080,654	15.44%
17	Medical instruments for surgeons, dentists, vets	$242,507,772	$222,781,626	$19,726,146	8.85%
18	Sweaters, pullovers, vest, knit or crocheted	$227,637,802	$127,173,764	$100,464,038	79.00%
19	Compressors and pumps	$210,670,255	$172,734,438	$37,935,817	21.96%
20	Linens for bed, bath and kitchen	$204,304,928	$133,253,290	$71,051,638	53.32%
21	Crude oil from Petroleum, bituminous minerals	$200,451,358	$126,961,337	$73,490,021	57.88%
22	Internal combustion engines, including aircraft	$188,329,668	$210,760,182	($22,430,514)	-10.64%
23	Tractors	$186,392,818	$217,275,053	($30,882,235)	-14.21%
24	Toys, scale models, puzzles	$184,031,841	$158,678,126	$25,353,715	15.98%
25	Cane, beet sugar, solid form	$174,158,018	$93,149,005	$81,009,013	86.97%