FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EST, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2017 CB 17-197 BEA 17-65 FT-900 (17-10) U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis NEWS U.S. Department of Commerce * Washington, DC 20230 U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES October 2017 The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced today that the goods and services deficit was $48.7 billion in October, up $3.8 billion from $44.9 billion in September, revised. October exports were $195.9 billion, down less than $0.1 billion from September exports. October imports were $244.6 billion, $3.8 billion more than September imports. The October increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $3.8 billion to $69.1 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of less than $0.1 billion to $20.3 billion. Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $49.1 billion, or 11.9 percent, from the same period in 2016. Exports increased $97.5 billion or 5.3 percent. Imports increased $146.6 billion or 6.5 percent. Goods and Services Three-Month Moving Averages (Exhibit 2) The average goods and services deficit increased $1.2 billion to $46.0 billion for the three months ending in October. * Average exports of goods and services increased $0.8 billion to $195.2 billion in October. * Average imports of goods and services increased $2.0 billion to $241.2 billion in October. Year-over-year, the average goods and services deficit increased $5.1 billion from the three months ending in October 2016. * Average exports of goods and services increased $8.2 billion from October 2016. * Average imports of goods and services increased $13.2 billion from October 2016. Exports (Exhibits 3, 6, and 7) Exports of goods decreased $0.3 billion to $130.3 billion in October. Exports of goods on a Census basis decreased $0.5 billion. * Foods, feeds, and beverages decreased $1.3 billion. o Soybeans decreased $1.4 billion. * Capital goods decreased $1.2 billion. o Civilian aircraft decreased $1.1 billion. * Industrial supplies and materials increased $2.6 billion. Net balance of payments adjustments increased $0.2 billion. Exports of services increased $0.3 billion to $65.6 billion in October. * Financial services increased $0.1 billion. * Other business services, which includes research and development services; professional and management services; and technical, trade-related, and other services, increased $0.1 billion. Imports (Exhibits 4, 6, and 8) Imports of goods increased $3.5 billion to $199.4 billion in October. Imports of goods on a Census basis increased $3.5 billion. * Industrial supplies and materials increased $1.8 billion. o Crude oil increased $1.5 billion. * Other goods increased $1.1 billion. * Consumer goods increased $0.8 billion. o Cell phones and other household goods increased $0.3 billion. Net balance of payments adjustments decreased less than $0.1 billion. Imports of services increased $0.3 billion to $45.2 billion in October. * Transport increased $0.3 billion. Real Goods in 2009 Dollars – Census Basis (Exhibit 11) The real goods deficit increased $3.1 billion to $65.3 billion in October. * Real exports of goods decreased $0.3 billion to $125.7 billion. * Real imports of goods increased $2.9 billion to $191.0 billion. Revisions Exports and imports of goods and services were revised for April through September 2017 to incorporate more comprehensive and updated quarterly and monthly data. Revisions to September exports * Exports of goods were revised up $0.1 billion. * Exports of services were revised down $0.9 billion. Revisions to September imports * Imports of goods were revised down $0.1 billion. * Imports of services were revised up $0.6 billion. Goods by Selected Countries and Areas: Monthly – Census Basis (Exhibit 19) The October figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($3.9), Hong Kong ($2.3), Brazil ($1.1), Singapore ($0.7), Saudi Arabia ($0.3), and United Kingdom ($0.2). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($31.9), European Union ($12.0), Mexico ($6.0), Japan ($5.9), Germany ($5.3), Italy ($2.7), South Korea ($2.7), India ($2.1), Canada ($1.9), OPEC ($1.6), France ($1.6), and Taiwan ($1.6). * The balance with members of OPEC shifted from a surplus of $0.6 billion to a deficit of $1.6 billion in October. Exports decreased $0.9 billion to $4.3 billion and imports increased $1.3 billion to $5.9 billion. * The deficit with China increased $2.1 billion to $31.9 billion in October. Exports decreased $0.8 billion to $10.6 billion and imports increased $1.2 billion to $42.5 billion. * The deficit with the European Union decreased $2.5 billion to $12.0 billion in October. Exports increased $1.4 billion to $25.0 billion and imports decreased $1.1 billion to $37.0 billion. Goods and Services by Selected Countries and Areas: Quarterly – Balance of Payments Basis (Exhibit 20) The third quarter figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($18.3), Hong Kong ($8.4), Brazil ($7.1), Singapore ($5.0), OPEC ($4.9), Canada ($4.3), United Kingdom ($3.7), and Saudi Arabia ($3.5). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($81.9), European Union ($25.5), Germany ($17.2), Mexico ($15.9), Japan ($14.6), Italy ($8.7), India ($7.4), Taiwan ($4.2), South Korea ($3.5), and France ($3.2). * The balance with Canada shifted from a deficit of $0.7 billion to a surplus of $4.3 billion in the third quarter. Exports increased $1.0 billion to $85.5 billion and imports decreased $4.0 billion to $81.2 billion. * The deficit with Mexico decreased $2.6 billion to $15.9 billion in the third quarter. Exports increased $1.3 billion to $69.2 billion and imports decreased $1.3 billion to $85.2 billion. * The deficit with South Korea increased $2.2 billion to $3.5 billion in the third quarter. Exports decreased $1.5 billion to $17.3 billion and imports increased $0.7 billion to $20.8 billion. NOTICE Effects of 2017 Atlantic Hurricanes on U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services The effects of the recent hurricanes are embedded in the source data that the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the U.S. Census Bureau use to produce trade in goods and services statistics. However, these effects generally cannot be isolated, and thus, BEA and the Census Bureau cannot separately quantify the impacts of the hurricanes. The impacts of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria are reflected in the source data underlying this “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: October 2017” report and will be reflected in subsequent reports until normal trade activities resume in affected areas. Goods Below is information on the collection of statistics on trade in goods by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and possible scenarios for shipments directly impacted by the hurricanes, along with information regarding statistical procedures used to produce trade statistics. * Transactions that are cleared through a customs port are included in the trade statistics per normal procedures. However, there may be instances in which power outages or inaccessibility to buildings delay reporting by affected filers. * During port closures, export and import shipments may be diverted, amended, or canceled. Diverted import shipments may enter through another U.S. port or be transshipped through Mexico. * The Census Bureau processes any corrections as usual per Census Bureau revision policy (www.census.gov/foreign-trade/guide/revisions.html). * Exports to and imports from a foreign country that leave or enter the U.S. customs territory in the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico are included in U.S. international trade statistics. For more information, see the “U.S. Trade with Puerto Rico and U.S. Possessions” section of the Guide to Foreign Trade Statistics (www.census.gov/foreign-trade/guide/sec2.html#possessions). For further CBP guidance, please visit CBP’s Cargo Systems Messaging Service (apps.cbp.gov/csms/csms.asp?display_page=1) and search “hurricane.” Census Bureau reports on trade through the Gulf Coast ports and on trade through Southeast ports are available at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/specialreports/gulfcoastports.pdf and www.census.gov/foreign-trade/specialreports/southeastports.pdf. Additional U.S. port data are available on USA Trade Online (usatrade.census.gov/) and on the International Trade API (www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/international-trade.html). If you have questions, please contact the Census Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, on (800)549-0595, option 4, or at eid.international.trade.data@census.gov. Services While BEA cannot separately quantify the impacts of the hurricanes on any specific service category, there are several possible impacts of the hurricanes on U.S. trade in services. For example, transport services may be affected by port closures and by diverted shipments. Travel expenditures and other services trade may be affected to the extent that service activities are interrupted. The effects of the hurricanes on insurance services, meanwhile, are likely to be small because BEA uses normal losses, rather than actual losses, to measure insurance services. For more information, see “What are the effects of hurricanes and other disasters on the international economic accounts? (www.bea.gov/faq/index.cfm?faq_id=53&searchQuery=&start=0&cat_id=0)” The September and October trade in services statistics in this release are based on limited source data. More complete source data will be incorporated following the schedule outlined in “Revision Procedure (Goods on a BOP Basis and Services)” on page A-6 of this release. If you have questions, please contact BEA, Balance of Payments Division, at InternationalAccounts@bea.gov. NOTES: *All statistics referenced are seasonally adjusted; statistics are on a balance of payments basis unless otherwise specified. Additional statistics, including not seasonally adjusted statistics and details for goods on a Census basis, are available in Exhibits 1-20b of this release. For information on data sources, definitions, revision procedures, and scheduled release dates through December 2018, see the information section on page A-1 of this release. The next release is January 5, 2018. *For definitions of goods on a balance of payments basis, goods on a Census basis, and net balance of payments adjustments, see the information section on page A-1 of this release.