WorldCity Business Magazine

Miami exports leap 16 percent

by WC

Technology products and aircraft parts led the $28.9 billion in
exports that South Florida exported in the first three quarters of
2006, assuring that the Miami Customs District will end the year
with another multimillion-dollar surplus.
Miami ended 2005 with a $2.2 billion surplus. At the end of
September 2006, the district’s surplus was already almost $4.7 billion
thanks to a 16 percent jump in exports.
Some $1.9 billion in computers was the top export out of South
Florida, reflecting a 20 percent increase over the first nine months
of 2005. The district also shipped $1.8 billion in computer parts, a
rise of 27 percent, and $1.2 billion in computer chips, an increase of
nearly 12 percent.
Transmission apparatus for cell phones, the third most valuable
export, climbed 12 percent to nearly $1.4 billion.
The district also exported nearly $1.1 billion in airplane parts a
leap of 42 percent and nearly the same amount in parts for smaller
regional jets.
When it came to South Florida’s fastest growing destinations for
exports, Peru and China stood alone. Exports to China, while still far
behind imports from the Asian nation, leaped 71 percent. Shipments
to Peru, meanwhile, climbed 35 in the first three quarters of the year.
High commodity prices, especially those of copper and gold, kept
the Peruvian economy growing and boosted consumer confidence.
As Peruvians began to spend, they turned to the United States as the
source for consumer goods. At the same time, South Florida supplied
the mining and construction industries with heavy machinery.
The same phenomenon has driven up Miami Customs District
exports to Venezuela, the second most important destination for
South Florida exports after Brazil. An abundance of petrodollars
kept Venezuelans on a buying spree that started in 2005.
In the first three quarters of 2006, Miami shipped $2.7 billion
worth of products to Venezuela, a 17 percent jump from the same
period in 2005. Cell phones, computer parts, computers, machinery
parts and automobile parts were among the leading exports.
Brazil remained the top export destination. Miami shipped $4.9
billion in goods in the first nine months of 2006, an increase of 26
percent. Aweaker dollar against the real contributed to the outcome.
The leading export to Brazil was $694 million in regional jet
parts. Miami also doubled computer part exports to $625.8 million.
For Costa Rica, the district’s third most important export
destination, the value of shipments grew nearly 23 percent to $1.9
billion.