California’s merchandise export trade continued to rebound handily in January, with the value of shipments up by 18.5 percent over the same month last year. The news gives some hope to the notion the state’s economy is on a slow rebound.
The $10.3 billion in goods shipped abroad this January far exceeded the $8.7 billion the state's exporters shipped abroad in January 2009, according to a University of California Center Sacramento analysis of international trade data released this morning by the U.S. Commerce Department.
January marked the third consecutive month of year-over-year increases in California’s export trade, according to Jock O’Connell, the UC Center’s international trade and economics adviser.
“Even so, we are now just getting back to the level of exporting we were at in early 2007, before the global financial and economic crisis sent international trade spiraling down,” he noted.
Overall U.S. exports were up by 18.3 percent over last January.
There were other signs of recovery in recent days as well as the state’s three big shipping ports posted strong gains in export activity in February 2010. Long Beach reported a 32.8% increase in container exports and the Port of Los Angeles announced a 32.6% increase over February 2009.
At the Port of Oakland exports shipment were up 11% for February compared to the same month a year before- also the third straight month of increases.
President Obama made news in recent days promoting a goal of doubling US exports over the next five years.
California accounted for 11.1 percent of all U.S. merchandise exports in January.
Ag Exports Rebound
US Department of Commerce figures show major increases in exports of nuts (up 29%) , soybeans (up 40%) oil meal (up 66%) ,vegetable oils (up 42%) and wine (up13%). All figures are nationwide although both nuts and wine are big state exports.
Despite the increase in containers some ag groups complain there is not sufficient volume of outbound containers to ship our farm products to the big Far East markets.
China has our hungriest trade customer for California nuts with pistachio exports surging 30% just in December and January . Valley-made milk powder exports are on the upswing as well.
California’s exports of manufactured goods increased by 10.2 percent from last January, while shipments of agricultural goods and other non-manufactured products rose by 46.7 percent Re-exports of goods previously imported into the state jumped by 35.8 percent.
O’Connell said he anticipated continued improvement in the state’s export trade in coming months, "if only because the economies of most of our major trading partners continue to expand."
“The most worrisome prospect involves the risk of fall-out from the financial turmoil now gripping the European Union and especially those countries in the euro zone,” he warned.
Eight European nations, not all of whom use the euro as their currency, rank among California’s Top 25 export markets.
The increase in the dollar value of the state’s exports was reflected at California’s major international trade gateways. The number of loaded shipping containers leaving the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland were up by 26.8 percent over from last year.
Similarly, at Los Angeles International and San Francisco International, the state’s two primary international airports, export tonnage in January increased by 32.5 percent over last January. Historically, just over half of the value of California’s merchandise export trade has been airborne.
Other statistics released today show that the value of U.S. exports shipped through the Los Angeles Customs District in January was 5.8 percent ahead of last January, while exports from the San Francisco Customs District rose by 4.7 percent. Meanwhile, exports through the San Diego Customs District were up by just 1.5 percent on a year-over-year basis.
On the import side of the ledger, the U.S. Commerce Department reports that California’s import trade totaled $23.0 billion in January, an increase of 14.6 percent over last January.
