Statistics
Six-month report: Boston trade up slightly, but exports drop
August 22nd, 2006
Boston’s trade through the first six months of 2006 increased slightly less than 6 percent, dragged down by a decrease in exports of $202 million.
Only six other Customs districts showed a decrease in exports, and only Charleston, S.C. ($504 million), and St. Albans, Vt. ($425 million), showed a greater decline in dollars, according to WorldCity analysis of the most recent U.S. Census data.
Exports increased, meanwhile, in 38 Customs districts. Overall, U.S. exports increased 13.7 percent, or $60.9 billion, through the first six months of the year, when compared to the same period a year ago.
Boston’s imports increased $1.1 billion, or about 11 percent, also below the national average.
| June 2006 YTD | Total Trade | June 2006 YTD | June 2005 YTD | Dollar Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Total | $16,366,463,228 | $15,448,324,159 | $918,139,069 | 5.94% | |
| 1 | Germany | $1,837,192,566 | $1,532,853,852 | $304,338,714 | 19.85% |
| 2 | Canada | $1,769,561,845 | $1,836,265,528 | ($66,703,683) | -3.63% |
| 3 | China | $1,547,312,745 | $1,370,191,225 | $177,121,520 | 12.93% |
| 4 | Netherlands | $1,522,467,058 | $1,810,982,623 | ($288,515,565) | -15.93% |
| 5 | Ireland | $1,063,899,468 | $1,016,773,094 | $47,126,374 | 4.63% |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $1,013,954,847 | $916,644,614 | $97,310,233 | 10.62% |
| 7 | Sweden | $692,233,932 | $689,934,304 | $2,299,628 | 0.33% |
| 8 | Trinidad and Tobago | $670,292,388 | $459,934,751 | $210,357,637 | 45.74% |
| 9 | France | $586,365,274 | $546,537,292 | $39,827,982 | 7.29% |
| 10 | Japan | $486,524,309 | $449,486,413 | $37,037,896 | 8.24% |
| 11 | Italy | $430,881,900 | $425,274,528 | $5,607,372 | 1.32% |
| 12 | Malaysia | $416,663,699 | $226,115,618 | $190,548,081 | 84.27% |
| 13 | Venezuela | $390,077,129 | $374,020,395 | $16,056,734 | 4.29% |
| 14 | Belgium | $361,281,125 | $233,316,046 | $127,965,079 | 54.85% |
| 15 | Switzerland | $322,829,149 | $303,129,624 | $19,699,525 | 6.50% |
| 16 | Taiwan | $264,059,580 | $245,250,610 | $18,808,970 | 7.67% |
| 17 | Thailand | $214,228,000 | $466,396,374 | ($252,168,374) | -54.07% |
| 18 | Hong Kong | $194,378,981 | $169,389,757 | $24,989,224 | 14.75% |
| 19 | India | $163,372,456 | $115,859,141 | $47,513,315 | 41.01% |
| 20 | Russia | $155,877,871 | $43,892,028 | $111,985,843 | 255.14% |
| 21 | South Korea | $151,770,250 | $110,650,714 | $41,119,536 | 37.16% |
| 22 | Indonesia | $131,814,582 | $123,205,088 | $8,609,494 | 6.99% |
| 23 | Singapore | $129,150,476 | $156,325,737 | ($27,175,261) | -17.38% |
| 24 | Israel | $122,249,201 | $104,007,767 | $18,241,434 | 17.54% |
| 25 | Colombia | $121,280,002 | $119,606,393 | $1,673,609 | 1.40% |
There are some bright spots in the statistics.
Total trade with Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Trinidad & Tobago, Belgium, Taiwan and Russia all showed above-average, robust growth through the first six months. The biggest gain was a 156 percent increase with Russia.
| June 2006 YTD | Export | June 2006 YTD | June 2005 YTD | Dollar Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Total | $5,003,460,976 | $5,205,431,049 | $(201,970,073) | -3.88% | |
| 1 | Netherlands | $1,103,713,460 | $1,493,019,057 | $(389,305,597) | -26.08% |
| 2 | Germany | $993,837,614 | $842,952,230 | $150,885,384 | 17.90% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | $507,156,129 | $548,130,464 | $(40,974,335) | -7.48% |
| 4 | Malaysia | $352,161,858 | $165,546,001 | $186,615,857 | 112.73% |
| 5 | France | $341,522,907 | $332,492,941 | $9,029,966 | 2.72% |
| 6 | China | $167,385,752 | $157,744,836 | $9,640,916 | 6.11% |
| 7 | Ireland | $139,616,884 | $140,203,071 | $(586,187) | -0.42% |
| 8 | Hong Kong | $118,825,183 | $95,861,067 | $22,964,116 | 23.96% |
| 9 | Turkey | $100,066,576 | $28,638,329 | $71,428,247 | 249.41% |
| 10 | Japan | $98,732,295 | $82,638,757 | $16,093,538 | 19.47% |
| 11 | Italy | $88,903,630 | $106,977,179 | $(18,073,549) | -16.89% |
| 12 | Switzerland | $83,464,033 | $52,925,887 | $30,538,146 | 57.70% |
| 13 | Belgium | $69,681,794 | $76,332,080 | $(6,650,286) | -8.71% |
| 14 | India | $65,071,218 | $51,225,393 | $13,845,825 | 27.03% |
| 15 | Singapore | $59,309,401 | $100,426,447 | $(41,117,046) | -40.94% |
| 16 | South Korea | $57,500,880 | $33,051,069 | $24,449,811 | 73.98% |
| 17 | Russia | $56,294,543 | $9,130,272 | $47,164,271 | 516.57% |
| 18 | Bermuda | $50,753,401 | $6,789,301 | $43,964,100 | 647.55% |
| 19 | Canada | $43,370,987 | $249,911,280 | $(206,540,293) | -82.65% |
| 20 | Taiwan | $39,683,520 | $81,635,605 | $(41,952,085) | -51.39% |
| 21 | Mexico | $33,596,834 | $20,752,122 | $12,844,712 | 61.90% |
| 22 | Australia | $32,550,580 | $24,491,539 | $8,059,041 | 32.91% |
| 23 | Spain | $31,429,626 | $42,281,143 | $(10,851,517) | -25.67% |
| 24 | Sweden | $22,645,012 | $21,886,404 | $758,608 | 3.47% |
| 25 | Venezuela | $18,997,684 | $3,008,608 | $15,989,076 | 531.44% |
The big loser among the top trade partners was manufacturing powerhouse Thailand, whose trade with Boston slipped 56 percent.
| June 2006 YTD | Imports | June 2006 YTD | June 2005 YTD | Dollar Change | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Total | $11,363,002,252 | $10,242,893,110 | $1,120,109,142 | 10.94% | |
| 1 | Canada | $1,726,190,858 | $1,586,354,248 | $139,836,610 | 8.81% |
| 2 | China | $1,379,926,993 | $1,212,446,389 | $167,480,604 | 13.81% |
| 3 | Ireland | $924,282,584 | $876,570,023 | $47,712,561 | 5.44% |
| 4 | Germany | $843,354,952 | $689,901,622 | $153,453,330 | 22.24% |
| 5 | Sweden | $669,588,920 | $668,047,900 | $1,541,020 | 0.23% |
| 6 | Trinidad and Tobago | $669,570,987 | $459,164,074 | $210,406,913 | 45.82% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | $506,798,718 | $368,514,150 | $138,284,568 | 37.52% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $418,753,598 | $317,963,566 | $100,790,032 | 31.70% |
| 9 | Japan | $387,792,014 | $366,847,656 | $20,944,358 | 5.71% |
| 10 | Venezuela | $371,079,445 | $371,011,787 | $67,658 | 0.02% |
| 11 | Italy | $341,978,270 | $318,297,349 | $23,680,921 | 7.44% |
| 12 | Belgium | $291,599,331 | $156,983,966 | $134,615,365 | 85.75% |
| 13 | France | $244,842,367 | $214,044,351 | $30,798,016 | 14.39% |
| 14 | Switzerland | $239,365,116 | $250,203,737 | $(10,838,621) | -4.33% |
| 15 | Taiwan | $224,376,060 | $163,615,005 | $60,761,055 | 37.14% |
| 16 | Thailand | $200,986,032 | $459,083,462 | $(258,097,430) | -56.22% |
| 17 | Indonesia | $128,536,851 | $120,753,848 | $7,783,003 | 6.45% |
| 18 | Colombia | $117,235,443 | $118,029,806 | $(794,363) | -0.67% |
| 19 | Israel | $105,267,687 | $87,021,100 | $18,246,587 | 20.97% |
| 20 | Russia | $99,583,328 | $34,761,756 | $64,821,572 | 186.47% |
| 21 | India | $98,301,238 | $64,633,748 | $33,667,490 | 52.09% |
| 22 | South Korea | $94,269,370 | $77,599,645 | $16,669,725 | 21.48% |
| 23 | Portugal | $84,028,806 | $55,984,222 | $28,044,584 | 50.09% |
| 24 | Brazil | $76,343,039 | $70,072,769 | $6,270,270 | 8.95% |
| 25 | Hong Kong | $75,553,798 | $73,528,690 | $2,025,108 | 2.75% |
Six-month report: Boston trade up slightly, but exports drop (08/22/2006)
Boston exports slip, as five of Top 10 commodities are down (06/28/2006)
Despite important medical exports, Boston's $31.6 billion in annual trade is dependent on imports (03/15/2006)
Boston's trade increases 6.4%Canada, Netherlands leapfrog Germany (01/01/2006)