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Georgia making first move into Top 10 in total U.S. trade

May 22nd, 2006

Georgia will break into the nation’s Top 10 Customs districts for the first time in modern times when statistics for May are released, according to WorldCity projections. The state finished 2005 in the No. 11 slot.

Total world trade for the Savannah Customs district, which encompasses the entire state, increased 14.9 percent to $19 billion in the first quarter of 2006, according to analysis of the most recent U.S. Census Department statistics.

That is a faster growth rate than current No. 10, Buffalo, which saw trade increase 8.6 percent in the first quarter to $20.7 billion, and slightly higher than the national average of 14.2 percent.

As recently as 2000, Georgia ranked No. 14. Throughout the 1990s, it ranged between No. 12 and No. 14. May statistics will be released in July.

2006 YTD	2005 YTD	Total Trade	March 2006 YTD	March 2005 YTD	Dollar change	% Change
		World Total	$19,007,547,373	$16,546,163,575	$2,461,383,798	14.88%
1	1	China	$3,233,582,016	$2,593,171,925	$640,410,091	24.70%
2	2	Japan	$2,008,563,375	$2,057,860,179	$(49,296,804)	-2.40%
3	3	Germany	$1,740,975,803	$1,537,681,060	$203,294,743	13.22%
4	4	South Korea	$1,092,582,993	$1,020,862,760	$71,720,233	7.03%
5	5	United Kingdom	$974,578,614	$950,387,239	$24,191,375	2.55%
6	7	Ireland	$670,411,363	$583,444,462	$86,966,901	14.91%
7	10	Australia	$585,695,175	$483,534,151	$102,161,024	21.13%
8	8	Italy	$583,825,743	$554,997,936	$28,827,807	5.19%
9	9	Malaysia	$578,708,024	$493,308,997	$85,399,027	17.31%
10	11	Taiwan	$563,540,235	$482,371,843	$81,168,392	16.83%
11	13	France	$473,310,924	$383,201,405	$90,109,519	23.51%
12	6	Netherlands	$457,810,812	$641,751,942	$(183,941,130)	-28.66%
13	15	Singapore	$334,495,144	$311,445,321	$23,049,823	7.40%
14	16	Thailand	$330,910,644	$302,298,188	$28,612,456	9.46%
15	12	Belgium	$328,282,395	$383,817,049	$(55,534,654)	-14.47%
16	17	Indonesia	$292,677,578	$236,992,263	$55,685,315	23.50%
17	14	Sweden	$278,591,475	$330,519,844	$(51,928,369)	-15.71%
18	19	Spain	$277,874,052	$197,793,878	$80,080,174	40.49%
19	20	Brazil	$264,007,158	$192,138,097	$71,869,061	37.40%
20	18	Trinidad and Tobago	$248,078,145	$210,896,444	$37,181,701	17.63%

The Georgia Customs district has three primary components the Port of Savannah, the Port of Brunswick and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Trade at the Port of Savannah is growing the fastest, showing an increase of 23.3 percent in dollar value while trade through Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport increased 11.4 percent and 8 percent at the Port of Brunswick.

The makeup of the trade at the three ports is distinct, with the Port of Savannah dominated by Chinese imports headed for the state’s import distribution centers and ultimately to the “big box” retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and others. China’s $1.7 billion in imports into the seaport in the first three months of the year was equal to almost 29 percent of the port’s total. Japan, the No. 2 ranked importer, accounted for about half that total, $830.9 million.

The seaport’s trade deficit increased from $2.1 billion to $2.7 billion in the first quarter.

At the Atlanta airport, Germany has slipped past Ireland through the first three months of the year, to sit atop the rankings. Both surpassed more than $1 billion in total trade through the first three months of the year, a first for both.

Even though China is not the dominant player at the airport that it is at the Port of Savannah, it is jumping up in the rankings. One year ago, it was No. 8, now it is No. 4 behind Japan and it is almost certainly going to move into the No. 3 slot within a matter on months.

The Atlanta airport’s deficit was just under $2 billion for the first three months, up from $1.5 billion, according to WorldCity analysis.

Brunswick is largely an import center for automobiles, led by South Korea, the Germany, and the United Kingdom. South Korean car imports accounted for almost 39 percent of the $1.2 billion in cars imported into Brunswick in the first three months of the year. Germany’s percentage was 17.1 percent while the U.K. accounted for 14 percent.

Brunswick’s deficit was $1.3 billion in the first quarter, up from $1.1 billion.

The Top 10 ranking is the result of steady and substantial growth atthe two seaports andAtlanta airport,as the chart below shows.

Year	Rank	Total Trade	Dollar Change	% Change
2005	11	$72,449,009,446	$12,039,063,520	19.93%
2004	12	$60,409,945,926	$12,158,947,413	25.20%
2003	13	$48,250,998,513	$2,768,690,680	6.09%
2002	13	$45,482,307,833	$4,717,200,396	11.57%
2001	13	$40,765,107,437	$(1,251,857,959)	-2.98%
2000	14	$42,016,965,396	$6,268,596,215	17.54%
1999	13	$35,748,369,181	$2,607,456,437	7.87%
1998	13	$33,140,912,744	$1,723,174,779	5.48%
1997	13	$31,417,737,965	$4,395,635,125	16.27%
1996	14	$27,022,102,840	$1,460,179,946	5.71%
1995	12	$25,561,922,894	$2,826,329,397	12.43%
1994	12	$22,735,593,497	$1,251,084,998	5.82%
1993	13	$21,484,508,499	$1,046,268,484	5.12%
1992	13	$20,438,240,015	NA	NA