Statistics

NY passes LA and it's all about oil

August 13th, 2008

Rising oil costs are having an outsized impact on U.S. import-export trade flows, according to WorldCity analysis of the most recent U.S. Census data.

New York City has reclaimed the mantle as the nation’s No. 1-ranked Customs district from Los Angeles, at least temporarily. (See Top Customs Districts chart below.)

Los Angeles has been the nation’s No. 1 ranked Customs district every year since 1994, when it first overtook New York with one somewhat counterintuitive exception. The exception is 2001, when a weak U.S. economy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks humbled the Los Angeles-Long Beach area’s import-export trade more than New York’s.

Through the first six months of 2008, New York’s trade is up 15.9 percent to $181.4 billion while Los Angeles is up 6.3 percent to $176.6 billion. Among the Top 25 Customs districts, which account for about 87 percent of all U.S. trade, Chicago moved up one position to No. 7, Philadelphia moved up three slots to No. 11 and Great Falls, Mont., jumped five positions to No. 17.

The biggest percentage gainers were Houston, where import-export trade skyrocketed more than 41 percent, when compared to the first six months of 2007, and Philadelphia, which jumped 34.7 percent.

Although oil prices are now, in August, showing signs of moderating and some rationality, the impact of energy in the statistics is clear, said WorldCity President Ken Roberts. Houston, Philadelphia and Great Falls are all related to oil from the Middle East and Latin America in the case of Houston, from Nigeria in the case of Philadelphia and from Canada in the case of Great Falls. And in New York, oil replaced diamonds as the No. 1 import.

The value of crude oil imports increased from $106.2 billion in the first six months of 2007 to $178.1 billion in 2008, a 67.7 percent increase. The value of imported gasoline and other refined petroleum products increased more than 31 percent, and remained the No. 3 ranked import behind cars. _(See Top 25 Imports chart below.)_

Rising oil prices have affected not only consumer behavior which translates to less spending on inexpensive Asian imports but they have also greatly added to the cost of importing from China, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, a trade lane dominated by the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Roberts said. Consequently, New York’s trade growth rate, which is slightly higher than the national average, was able to slip past L.A., which was well below.

China’s two-way trade with the United States grew 6.9 percent, below the national average of 14.7 percent, and below leading Canada, which grew 11.6 percent, and Mexico, which grew 9.6 percent, both energy providers. _(See Top 100 Trade Partners chart below.)_

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s trade with the United States, among the most imbalanced of all top U.S. partners, increased 70.9 percent and it jumped into the Top 10 for the first time in the first six months of the year, up nine positions. About 84 cents of every dollar in trade with Saudi Arabia is U.S. imports, the second biggest imbalance among the Top 25 after Nigeria.

Venezuela, another oil-rich nation, jumped three positions to rank No. 11 as its U.S. trade increased 41.4 percent.

Because of oil, the U.S. trade deficit surpassed the record set in the first six months of 2006 and narrowly missed eclipsing $400 billion. Saudi Arabia and Venezuela alone added more than $18 billion to the U.S. trade deficit. The combined deficit of all other nations was less, since the overall trade deficit increased $17.9 billion. The U.S. deficit with China increased $14.6 million over the first six months of 2007, or about one-tenth of one percent.

U.S. exports grew more rapidly than imports in percentage terms, up almost 18 percent. The biggest increases were in gasoline and other forms of refined petroleum, which jumped 135.7 percent, and soybeans, which increased 94.7 percent. _(See Top 25 Exports chart below.)_

Almost 48 percent of all soybean exports leave from the New Orleans Customs district, and more than a third of that total is bound for China.

[table4]

NY passes LA and it's all about oil (08/13/2008)

Colombia FTA in headlines as Clinton aide steps aside (04/07/2008)

Number of U.S. trade surpluses at 127 nations, highest since 1998 (02/21/2008)

U.S. trade breaks $3 trillion mark; first deficit decline in 15 years (02/15/2008)

Annual U.S. trade with a record 44 nations will exceed $10 billion (01/19/2008)

Annual trade growth forecast to slow but numerous records still will fall (01/17/2008)

U.S. exports to Putin's Russia growing far faster than national average (12/23/2007)

Baltimore, N.Y. among big gainers in exports (12/21/2007)

Aircraft, corn, gold exports growing rapidly (12/18/2007)

Slumping dollar means surging exports (11/13/2007)

With oil above $90 per barrel, crude and China play biggest role in deficit since 1992 (10/30/2007)

U.S. trade passes $2 trillion through August, a record (10/25/2007)

Exports, in GOP debate spotlight, continue brisk, record growth (10/09/2007)

U.S.-Burma trade vaporized in 2003 (09/30/2007)

Algeria, Vietnam among fastest-growing U.S. trade partners over five-year period (09/25/2007)

U.S. trade growth slowest in years (08/15/2007)

2nd U.S. TradeNumbers released (08/12/2007)

U.S. trade up and deficit down (07/13/2007)

1st Q: U.S. trade up slightly as import growth slows -- except with China (05/11/2007)

France, soon electing a new president, surpasses $10 billion in total trade (04/22/2007)

Handgun imports rise sharply, lead by Savannah, Miami, Chicago (04/17/2007)

U.S. trade rises a tepid 6 percent through February (04/16/2007)

South Korea car imports up 1,000% since 1992, but down last two years (04/10/2007)

It's a fact: Algeria, Angola, Chile, UAE, Austria are fastest-growing (04/10/2007)

U.S takes precedent-setting action against China in coated-paper case (04/02/2007)

Media weighs in on South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (04/02/2007)

South Korea takes big step toward $100 Billion Club (04/02/2007)

U.S. exports advance broadly, from airplanes to corn to tractors to gold (03/19/2007)

Annual Statistics: A quick review of the Top 10 U.S. trade partners (02/24/2007)

U.S. trade, exports, imports, deficit set new annual records (02/15/2007)

Annual statistics: Dallas among nation's fastest-growing districts (02/14/2007)

Seattle registers largest, and one of few, surpluses (02/14/2007)

DC is nation's fastest-growing Customs district for 2006 (02/14/2007)

Philadelphia falls just shy of $70 billion on rapid growth (02/13/2007)

Sneak peek at the annual trade statistic release (01/22/2007)

U.S. has trade surplus with 115 nations, deficit with 116 (11/03/2006)

U.S. trade growth at 14 percent through August (10/16/2006)

Exports to Afghanistan are zooming; led by aircraft, motor vehicles (10/02/2006)

Romania, Bulgaria seek EU status, both rank in Top 100 in U.S. trade (09/28/2006)

Trade with Muslim world growing faster than average (09/25/2006)

Annual Report: No. 17 Saudi Arabia - Quenching the oil thirst (09/15/2006)

New Orleans rebounding, one year after Katrina (08/27/2006)

Six-month report: U.S. trade increases 13 percent, with fast growth from red-hot Chile (08/24/2006)

Annual Report: No. 24 Switzerland - Swiss trade keeping time (07/26/2006)

Annual Report: No. 25 Australia- U.S. posts $8.4 billion surplus (07/26/2006)

Annual Report: No. 23 Hong Kong - U.S. expands trade surplus (07/25/2006)

Annual Report: No. 21 Israel - Glittering give-and-take (07/23/2006)

Annual Report: No. 20 India - Rising player on trade scene (07/22/2006)

Annual Report: No. 19 Thailand - Gains seen in tech products (07/21/2006)

Annual Report: No. 16 Singapore - U.S. sees growth in surplus (07/20/2006)