15 February 2011
U.S. trade topped $3 trillion in 2010 for the first time since 2008, recovering much but not all of the ground lost to the global recession, according to WorldCity analysis of Census Bureau data released today.
U.S. trade with the world was up 21.9 percent in 2010 to $3.2 trillion, but it remained 5.9 percent below the record level of 2008, a difference of $201.5 billion. It is only the second time in U.S. history that U.S. trade has topped $3 trillion.
Total U.S. exports increased 21 percent to $1.3 trillion, missing a new U.S. record by less than 1 percent. Total U.S. imports increased more rapidly than U.S. exports, up 22.6 percent to $1.9 trillion. But that total is not only less than the $2.1 trillion record in 2008; it is also less than the 2007 total, which was just shy of $2 trillion.
Because imports grew more rapidly than exports, the U.S. trade deficit grew in 2010, from $503.6 billion to $634.6 billion. But that total is the second-lowest total since 2004.
The ratio of exports to imports remained the same, with 40 cents of every dollar in U.S. trade an export and 60 cents an import. That percentage is an improvement over recent years. Prior to 2009 and 2010, the last time the ratio was not lower, in the 30-percent range, was 1999.
Canada remains the nation’s top trade partner, with $524.7 billion in exports and imports between the two nations. That total, while a 21.8 percent increase over the 2009 total, remains below the levels of 2006, 2007 and 2008.
China and Mexico, the nation’s No. 2 and No. 3 trade partners, both set records for U.S. trade, more than overcoming the declines in 2009. China’s share of the U.S. trade deficit was 43 percent, down from 45.1 percent in 2009. Mexico’s share of the U.S. trade deficit was 10.5 percent, up from 9.5 percent the previous year.
More than 90 percent of the total U.S. trade deficit is with just 10 nations. After China and Mexico, the largest deficits are with Japan, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Nigeria, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Including Mexico and Canada, six of the Top 10 U.S. deficits are with nations providing oil as their leading import to the United States.
In all, the United States had a trade surplus with 146 nations in 2010 and a deficit with 88. In the previous year, the United States had a trade surplus with 142 nations and a deficit with 91.
Rounding out the Top 10 U.S. trade partners are Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, France, Taiwan and Brazil. Among the Top 10, the only U.S. trade surplus is with Brazil.
Brazil’s No. 10 finish marks the first time the Latin American powerhouse has finished among the United States’ Top 10 trade partners, and makes it the third hemispheric partner in the Top 10, after Canada and Mexico.
Brazil moved up one position, as did No. 9 Taiwan, while the Netherlands fell two positions to finish outside the Top 10.
Among the nation’s Top 10 trade partners, three are nations in the Western Hemisphere, three in Europe and four in Asia. The Top 10 account for slightly less than two-thirds of all U.S. trade.
Among the nation’s leading Customs district, there was only one change among the Top 15 Customs districts, with El Paso moving ahead of Philadelphia to rank No. 14.
Los Angeles remained the nation’s top Customs district, followed by New York, Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, Laredo, Chicago, Seattle, Savannah and San Francisco to round out the Top 10. The Top 10 account for slightly more than 60 percent of all U.S. trade.
Miami finished No. 11, followed by Cleveland, Buffalo, El Paso and Philadelphia.
The top U.S. export in 2010 was aircraft as well as engines and parts. Most of that trade is connected to Boeing and Seattle. Although aircraft was the No. 1 export, the value dropped, from a record 2009 total of $74.8 billion to $71.9 billion in 2010.
It was the only Top 10 export category to register a decrease. The strongest gains among the Top 10 were with the No. 2 export, gasoline and other refined petroleum products, which jumped 47.3 percent in one year to a record $53.7 billion; a 38.6 percent increase for No. 3 export motor vehicles; and a 37 percent increase for No. 6 motor vehicle parts.
On the import side, No. 1 was oil, increasing 33.7 percent in value to $136 billion. The No. 2 import, motor vehicles, increased even more rapidly, up 41.8 percent over the 2009 total, to $115.3 billion. While the total for oil is the second-highest on record, behind only 2008, the value of motor vehicle imports has been higher five of the six previous years. The record total was $136 billion in 2006. The No. 7 import, motor vehicle parts, also rose sharply in 2010, up 44.8 percent.