News Release
These data have been superseded. Please see our latest releases for current estimates and contact information.
Gross Domestic Product, 3rd quarter 2012 (second estimate); Corporate Profits, 3rd quarter 2012 (preliminary estimate)
Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the third quarter of 2012 (that
is, from the second quarter to the third quarter), according to the "second" estimate released by the
Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.3 percent.
The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for
the "advance" estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.0
percent (see "Revisions" on page 3).
The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, federal government spending,
residential fixed investment, and exports that were partly offset by negative contributions from
nonresidential fixed investment and state and local government spending. Imports, which are a
subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased slightly.
The acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected upturns in private inventory
investment and in federal government spending, a deceleration in imports, an acceleration in residential
fixed investment, and a smaller decrease in state and local government spending that were partly offset
by a downturn in nonresidential fixed investment and decelerations in exports and in PCE.
________
FOOTNOTE. Quarterly estimates are expressed at seasonally adjusted annual rates, unless otherwise
specified. Quarter-to-quarter dollar changes are differences between these published estimates. Percent
changes are calculated from unrounded data and are annualized. "Real" estimates are in chained
(2005) dollars. Price indexes are chain-type measures.
This news release is available on BEAs Web site along with the Technical Note and Highlights
related to this release. For information on revisions, see "Revisions to GDP, GDI, and Their Major
Components."
_________
Final sales of computers added 0.12 percentage point to the third-quarter change in real GDP
after subtracting 0.10 percentage point from the second-quarter change. Motor vehicle output subtracted
0.24 percentage point from the third-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.20 percentage point to
the second-quarter change.
The price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents,
increased 1.4 percent in the third quarter, 0.1 percentage point less than in the advance estimate; this
index increased 0.7 percent in the second quarter. Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for
gross domestic purchases increased 1.1 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.4
percent in the second.
Real personal consumption expenditures increased 1.4 percent in the third quarter, compared
with an increase of 1.5 percent in the second. Durable goods increased 8.7 percent, in contrast to a
decrease of 0.2 percent. Nondurable goods increased 1.1 percent, compared with an increase of 0.6
percent. Services increased 0.3 percent, compared with an increase of 2.1 percent.
Real nonresidential fixed investment decreased 2.2 percent, in contrast to an increase of 3.6
percent. Nonresidential structures decreased 1.1 percent, in contrast to an increase of 0.6 percent.
Equipment and software decreased 2.7 percent, in contrast to an increase of 4.8 percent. Real residential
fixed investment increased 14.2 percent, compared with an increase of 8.5 percent.
Real exports of goods and services increased 1.1 percent in the third quarter, compared with an
increase of 5.3 percent in the second. Real imports of goods and services increased 0.1 percent,
compared with an increase of 2.8 percent.
Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment increased 9.5 percent
in the third quarter, in contrast to a decrease of 0.2 percent in the second. National defense increased
12.9 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.2 percent. Nondefense increased 3.0 percent, in contrast to a
decrease of 0.4 percent. Real state and local government consumption expenditures and gross
investment decreased 0.4 percent, compared with a decrease of 1.0 percent.
The change in real private inventories added 0.77 percentage point to the third-quarter change in
real GDP, after subtracting 0.46 percentage point from the second-quarter change. Private businesses
increased inventories $61.3 billion in the third quarter, following increases of $41.4 billion in the second
quarter and $56.9 billion in the first.
Real final sales of domestic product -- GDP less change in private inventories -- increased 1.9
percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.7 percent in the second.
Gross domestic purchases
Real gross domestic purchases -- purchases by U.S. residents of goods and services wherever
produced -- increased 2.4 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.0 percent in the
second.
Gross national product
Real gross national product -- the goods and services produced by the labor and property
supplied by U.S. residents -- increased 2.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 2.1
percent in the second. GNP includes, and GDP excludes, net receipts of income from the rest of the
world, which increased $1.3 billion in the third quarter after increasing $27.4 billion in the second; in the
third quarter, receipts decreased $1.6 billion, and payments decreased $2.8 billion.
Current-dollar GDP
Current-dollar GDP -- the market value of the nation's output of goods and services -- increased
5.5 percent, or $211.8 billion, in the third quarter to a level of $15,797.4 billion. In the second quarter,
current-dollar GDP increased 2.8 percent, or $107.3 billion.
Gross domestic income
Real gross domestic income (GDI), which measures the output of the economy as the costs
incurred and the incomes earned in the production of GDP, increased 1.7 percent in the third quarter, in
contrast to a decrease of 0.7 (revised) percent in the second. For a given quarter, the estimates of GDP
and GDI may differ for a variety of reasons, including the incorporation of largely independent source
data. However, over longer time spans, the estimates of GDP and GDI tend to follow similar patterns of
change.
Revisions
The "second" estimate of the third-quarter percent change in GDP is 0.7 percentage point, or
$21.9 billion, more than the advance estimate issued last month, primarily reflecting upward revisions to
private inventory investment and to exports that were partly offset by downward revisions to personal
consumption expenditures (PCE) and to nonresidential fixed investment.
Advance Estimate Second Estimate
(Percent change from preceding quarter)
Real GDP................................................ 2.0 2.7
Current-dollar GDP...................................... 5.0 5.5
Gross domestic purchases price index.................... 1.5 1.4
Corporate Profits
Profits from current production (corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital
consumption adjustments) increased $67.3 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of
$21.8 billion in the second quarter. Current-production cash flow (net cash flow with inventory
valuation adjustment) -- the internal funds available to corporations for investment -- increased $45.0
billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $6.0 billion in the second.
Taxes on corporate income increased $19.3 billion in the third quarter, in contrast to a decrease
of $10.3 billion in the second. Profits after tax with inventory valuation and capital consumption
adjustments increased $48.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $31.9 billion in
the second. Dividends increased $11.3 billion compared with an increase of $20.4 billion; current-
production undistributed profits increased $36.8 billion, compared with an increase of $11.6 billion.
Domestic profits of financial corporations increased $71.3 billion in the third quarter, in contrast
to a decrease of $39.7 billion in the second. Domestic profits of nonfinancial corporations decreased
$1.0 billion in the third quarter, in contrast to an increase of $27.8 billion in the second. In the third
quarter, real gross value added of nonfinancial corporations decreased, and profits per unit of real value
added increased. The increase in unit profits reflected an increase in unit prices that was partly offset by
increases in both the unit labor and nonlabor costs corporations incurred.
The rest-of-the-world component of profits decreased $2.8 billion in the third quarter, in contrast
to an increase of $33.6 billion in the second. This measure is calculated as (1) receipts by U.S. residents
of earnings from their foreign affiliates plus dividends received by U.S. residents from unaffiliated
foreign corporations minus (2) payments by U.S. affiliates of earnings to their foreign parents plus
dividends paid by U.S. corporations to unaffiliated foreign residents. The third-quarter decrease was
accounted for by a larger increase in payments than in receipts.
Profits before tax increased $106.6 billion in the third quarter, in contrast to a decrease of $16.3
billion in the second. The before-tax measure of profits does not reflect, as does profits from current
production, the capital consumption and inventory valuation adjustments. These adjustments convert
depreciation of fixed assets and inventory withdrawals reported on a tax-return, historical-cost basis to
the current-cost measures used in the national income and product accounts. The capital consumption
adjustment increased $2.9 billion in the third quarter (from -$202.4 billion to -$199.5 billion), in contrast
to a decrease of $1.7 billion in the second. The inventory valuation adjustment decreased $42.1 billion
(from $16.0 billion to -$26.1 billion), in contrast to an increase of $39.7 billion.
Effective with this release, chained-dollar gross value added of nonfinancial corporate business
was revised beginning with 2009. Chained-dollar gross value added is derived by deflating current-
dollar gross value added by a revised chain-type price index for nonfinancial industries from BEAs
annual industry accounts released earlier this month.
BEA's national, international, regional, and industry estimates; the Survey of Current Business; and
BEA news releases are available without charge on BEA's Web site at www.bea.gov. By visiting the
site, you can also subscribe to receive free e-mail summaries of BEA releases and announcements.
* * *
Next release -- December 20, 2012, at 8:30 A.M. EST for:
Gross Domestic Product: Third Quarter 2012 (Third Estimate)
Corporate Profits: Third Quarter (Revised Estimate)
* * *
Release Dates in 2013
2012: IV and 2012 annual 2013: I 2013: II 2013: III
Gross Domestic Product
Advance.......... January 30 April 26 July 31 October 30
Second........... February 28 May 30 August 29 November 26
Third............ March 28 June 26 September 26 December 20
Corporate Profits
Preliminary...... ........ May 30 August 29 November 26
Revised.......... March 28 June 26 September 26 December 20