U.S. Trade by Industry, Sector, and Selected Trading Partners

Author: Cathy Jabara
Senior Economist

U.S. Exports

In 2014, U.S. exports grew by $43.9 billion (3 percent) to $1,623.4 billion, as exports in 9 of the 10 sectors reviewed in 2014 Trade Shifts increased (table US.2 and figure US.1). The transportation equipment sector recorded the greatest absolute increase in exports ($13.5 billion). Strong global demand for motor vehicles and for aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment contributed to the growth in U.S. exports in this sector (table US.3). Minerals and metals was the only sector to record a decrease in the value of exports in 2014 (down $8.5 billion, or 5 percent). The decline in exports is attributed to lower prices for precious metals and decreased processed-mineral exports because of weak global economic growth and the increase in the value of the U.S. dollar in the last part of 2014.¹

Item	2010	2011	Million $ 2012	2013	2014	Absolute Change, 2013-14	Percent Change, 2013-14
U.S. total exports:
Agricultural products	125,498	150,461	154,130	157,655	164,848	7,192	4.6
Forest products	37,699	40,849	39,832	40,835	41,280	445	1.1
Chemicals and related products	207,025	225,308	228,914	231,276	234,687	3,411	1.5
Energy-related products	87,109	137,176	143,356	154,575	162,553	7,977	5.2
Textiles and apparel	19,716	22,372	22,472	23,324	23,916	592	2.5
Footwear	1,105	1,290	1,332	1,391	1,449	58	4.2
Minerals and metals	128,405	165,012	164,013	161,636	153,122	-8,515	-5.3
Machinery	117,436	130,321	138,530	139,636	145,526	5,890	4.2
Transportation equipment	241,259	280,064	313,445	322,112	335,629	13,516	4.2
Electronic products	237,192	251,669	257,690	261,223	267,573	6,350	2.4
Miscellaneous manufactures	35,676	38,608	41,354	43,813	47,946	4,133	9.4
Special provisions	40,374	39,378	40,635	42,116	44,916	2,800	6.6
Total	1,278,495	1,482,508	1,545,703	1,579,593	1,623,443	43,850	2.8
U.S. general imports:
Agricultural products	98,218	116,374	123,323	126,678	136,184	9,506	7.5
Forest products	35,775	36,274	37,071	39,996	42,092	2,096	5.2
Chemicals and related products	205,093	237,927	237,262	236,704	251,615	14,911	6.3
Energy-related products	360,138	458,764	428,235	384,153	349,955	-34,198	-8.9
Textiles and apparel	104,504	113,848	113,866	118,019	121,684	3,665	3.1
Footwear	20,903	22,654	23,887	24,810	26,014	1,203	4.8
Minerals and metals	157,246	193,651	195,080	190,435	205,082	14,648	7.7
Machinery	131,051	156,123	167,784	170,212	184,701	14,488	8.5
Transportation equipment	269,017	309,994	363,318	375,445	403,018	27,572	7.3
Electronic products	378,626	402,543	415,476	421,672	438,167	16,495	3.9
Miscellaneous manufactures	97,659	99,878	104,751	109,931	114,314	4,383	4
Special provisions	55,626	59,924	66,250	70,265	72,362	2,097	3
Total	1,913,857	2,207,954	2,276,302	2,268,321	2,345,187	76,866	3.4
U.S. merchandise trade balance:
Agricultural products	27,280	34,087	30,807	30,978	28,664	-2,314	-7.5
Forest products	1,924	4,575	2,761	839	-812	-1,651	(a)
Chemicals and related products	1,932	-12,619	-8,348	-5,429	-16,928	-11,499	-211.8
Energy-related products	-273,029	-321,588	-284,878	-229,577	-187,402	42,175	18.4
Textiles and apparel	-84,788	-91,475	-91,394	-94,696	-97,768	-3,073	-3.2
Footwear	-19,797	-21,364	-22,555	-23,419	-24,564	-1,145	-4.9
Minerals and metals	-28,841	-28,640	-31,068	-28,798	-51,961	-23,162	-80.4
Machinery	-13,615	-25,803	-29,253	-30,576	-39,175	-8,599	-28.1
Transportation equipment	-27,757	-29,930	-49,873	-53,333	-67,389	-14,056	-26.4
Electronic products	-141,434	-150,874	-157,786	-160,449	-170,594	-10,145	-6.3
Miscellaneous manufactures	-61,983	-61,270	-63,397	-66,118	-66,368	-250	-0.4
Special provisions	-15,253	-20,546	-25,615	-28,149	-27,446	703	2.5
Total	-635,362	-725,447	-730,599	-688,728	-721,744	-33,016	-4.8

Item	2010	2011	Million $ 2012	2013	2014	Absolute Change, 2013-14	Percent Change, 2013-14
U.S. total exports:
Increases:
Transportation equipment:
Aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment (TE013)	79,541	87,671	103,742	113,872	123,805	9,933	8.7
Motor vehicles (TE009)	52,749	63,983	70,432	74,023	77,692	3,669	5
Energy-related products:
Crude petroleum (EP004)	1,731	2,084	2,634	5,103	12,246	7,143	140
Natural gas and components (EP006)	8,452	10,578	9,251	13,022	17,989	4,967	38.1
Miscellaneous manufactures:
Works of art and miscellaneous manufactured goods (MS017)	7,199	7,670	8,136	8,489	11,006	2,517	29.6
Precious jewelry and related articles (MS006)	6,458	7,680	8,748	10,146	11,331	1,185	11.7
Decreases:
Minerals and metals:
Precious metals and non-numismatic coins (MM020)	30,045	44,932	45,307	41,719	29,982	-11,737	-28.1
Copper and related articles (MM036)	7,468	9,113	9,082	8,471	8,030	-441	-5.2
Coal, coke, and related chemical products (EP003)	12,612	19,405	17,537	13,778	10,325	-3,453	-25.1
All other	1,072,240	1,229,393	1,270,833	1,290,969	1,321,038	30,068	2.3
Total	1,278,495	1,482,508	1,545,703	1,579,593	1,623,443	43,850	2.8
U.S. general imports:
Increases:
Transportation equipment:
Certain motor-vehicle parts (TE010)	54,444	63,368	73,333	75,206	82,013	6,806	9
Motor vehicles (TE009)	130,065	140,963	168,195	176,780	183,251	6,471	3.7
Aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment (TE013)	18,766	21,463	24,134	29,423	34,264	4,841	16.5
Telecommunications equipment (EL002)	74,406	80,170	83,922	91,776	98,161	6,386	7
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment  and robotics (MT019)	9,332	14,005	12,917	11,690	14,173	2,484	21.2
Decreases:
Energy-related products:
Crude petroleum (EP004)	260,105	336,687	315,820	273,836	246,970	-26,866	-9.8
Petroleum products (EP005)	69,267	94,648	92,564	89,209	79,808	-9,401	-10.5
All other	1,297,470	1,456,650	1,505,418	1,520,402	1,606,547	86,145	5.7
Total	1,913,857	2,207,954	2,276,302	2,268,321	2,345,187	76,866	3.4

U.S. Imports

In 2014, the value of total U.S. imports increased by $76.9 billion (3 percent) to $2,345.2 billion, with the largest absolute shifts occurring in energy-related products (down $34.2 billion to $350.0 billion), transportation equipment (up $27.6 billion to $403.0 billion), and electronic products (up $16.5 billion to $438.2 billion). Lower domestic consumption of crude petroleum and higher U.S. production of this commodity contributed to the significant reduction in imports of energy-related products (down 9 percent) in 2014.

Mexican suppliers accounted for a little more than a third of the U.S. import growth in the transportation equipment sector. Benefiting from lower labor costs in Mexico, as well as duty-free access to the U.S. market under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. imports of transportation equipment from Mexico rose by $11.1 billion. At the same time, growth in U.S. imports from Canada was much lower ($2.7 billion), and imports from Japan declined by $2.8 billion. Increased imports of motor-vehicle parts, motor vehicles, and aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment accounted for most of the growth in U.S. imports of transportation equipment in 2014 (see the Transportation Products webpage for more detail). Increased imports of telecommunications equipment accounted for most of the growth in U.S. imports of electronic products. China accounted for almost two-thirds of U.S. import growth in the electronic products sector in 2014 (see the Electronic Products webpage for more detail).

U.S. Trade Balance ²

In 2014, based on total exports and general imports, 9 of the 10 U.S. merchandise sectors addressed in 2014 Trade Shifts—all except the agricultural sector—registered trade deficits.³ The trade deficit for the energy-related products sector fell by $42.2 billion (18 percent), largely because of rising U.S. production of crude petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas, coupled with largely stagnant U.S. consumption. The change in this sector was a major factor in restraining the overall U.S. trade deficit to a $33.0 billion (5 percent) increase in 2014. The trade deficit reached $721.7 billion that year, about 1 percent below the five-year peak of $730.6 billion in 2012. Of the sectoral trade deficits, the largest increase in 2014 occurred in the minerals and metals sector; this deficit increased by $23.2 billion (80 percent) to $52.0 billion. Although the agricultural products sector recorded a trade surplus of $28.7 billion in 2014, this surplus represented a decline of $2.3 billion (8 percent) from the previous year.

Shifts in U.S. Bilateral/Multilateral Trade among Leading Trading Partners

In 2014, the United States’ top five single-country trading partners continued to be Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany (table US.4 and figure US.2). Together, these trading partners accounted for over half of U.S. trade with the world. The United States’ overall trade deficit with these five countries grew by $26.7 billion in 2014.

Item	2010	2011	Million $ 2012	2013	2014	Absolute Change, 2013-14	Percent Change, 2013-14
U.S. total exports:
Canada	249,256	281,292	292,651	301,610	312,125	10,516	3.5
China	91,911	104,122	110,516	121,736	124,024	2,288	1.9
Mexico	163,665	198,289	215,907	226,079	240,326	14,247	6.3
Japan	60,472	65,800	69,964	65,206	66,964	1,758	2.7
Germany	48,155	49,294	48,801	47,362	49,443	2,081	4.4
South Korea	38,821	43,462	42,265	41,715	44,544	2,829	6.8
United Kingdom	48,410	56,033	54,860	47,353	53,865	6,512	13.8
France	26,970	27,857	30,811	31,745	31,197	-547	-1.7
Brazil	35,418	43,019	43,807	44,119	42,418	-1,701	-3.9
Taiwan	26,050	25,932	24,337	25,472	26,836	1,363	5.4
All other	489,367	587,409	611,785	627,197	631,701	4,504	0.7
Total	1,278,495	1,482,508	1,545,703	1,579,593	1,623,443	43,850	2.8
EU-28	239,903	269,580	265,686	262,151	276,698	14,548	5.5
OPEC	54,226	64,809	81,732	84,679	82,729	-1,950	-2.3
Latin America	302,241	367,301	399,138	410,478	425,123	14,645	3.6
Asia	338,678	380,707	386,958	402,075	408,279	6,204	1.5
Sub-Saharan Africa	17,110	21,165	22,503	23,938	25,381	1,443	6
U.S. general imports:
Canada	277,637	315,325	324,264	332,553	346,063	13,510	4.1
China	364,953	399,371	425,626	440,448	466,656	26,209	6
Mexico	229,986	262,874	277,594	280,529	294,157	13,629	4.9
Japan	120,552	128,928	146,438	138,573	133,939	-4,635	-3.3
Germany	82,450	98,684	109,226	114,345	123,181	8,836	7.7
South Korea	48,875	56,661	58,902	62,386	69,606	7,219	11.6
United Kingdom	49,805	51,263	55,003	52,817	54,049	1,231	2.3
France	38,355	40,049	41,647	45,708	47,015	1,307	2.9
Brazil	23,958	31,737	32,123	27,634	30,337	2,703	9.8
Taiwan	35,847	41,405	38,861	37,940	40,572	2,632	6.9
All other	641,438	781,658	766,620	735,389	739,613	4,224	0.6
Total	1,913,857	2,207,954	2,276,302	2,268,321	2,345,187	76,866	3.4
EU-28	319,600	368,902	382,197	387,591	417,837	30,245	7.8
OPEC	149,893	191,470	180,752	152,690	132,132	-20,558	-13.5
Latin America	361,412	437,165	449,384	439,041	444,588	5,547	1.3
Asia	721,630	796,218	849,763	865,588	910,823	45,235	5.2
Sub-Saharan Africa	65,026	74,322	49,624	39,294	26,751	-12,542	-31.9
U.S. merchandise trade balance:
Canada	-28,380	-34,033	-31,613	-30,943	-33,937	-2,994	-9.7
China	-273,042	-295,250	-315,111	-318,711	-342,633	-23,921	-7.5
Mexico	-66,321	-64,585	-61,687	-54,450	-53,831	618	1.1
Japan	-60,080	-63,128	-76,474	-73,368	-66,975	6,393	8.7
Germany	-34,295	-49,390	-60,425	-66,983	-73,738	-6,756	-10.1
South Korea	-10,055	-13,200	-16,636	-20,672	-25,062	-4,390	-21.2
United Kingdom	-1,395	4,771	-143	-5,464	-183	5,280	96.6
France	-11,386	-12,192	-10,835	-13,963	-15,818	-1,855	-13.3
Brazil	11,460	11,282	11,684	16,485	12,081	-4,403	-26.7
Taiwan	-9,797	-15,473	-14,523	-12,468	-13,736	-1,268	-10.2
All other	-152,071	-194,249	-154,835	-108,192	-107,913	280	0.3
Total	-635,362	-725,447	-730,599	-688,728	-721,744	-33,016	-4.8
EU-28	-79,697	-99,322	-116,512	-125,441	-141,138	-15,698	-12.5
OPEC	-95,667	-126,661	-99,021	-68,011	-49,403	18,608	27.4
Latin America	-59,171	-69,864	-50,247	-28,564	-19,465	9,098	31.9
Asia	-382,951	-415,512	-462,805	-463,513	-502,544	-39,032	-8.4
Sub-Saharan Africa	-47,916	-53,157	-27,121	-15,356	-1,370	13,986	91.1

U.S. trade deficits increased with China (up $23.9 billion to $342.6 billion), Germany (up $6.8 billion to $73.7 billion), and Canada (up $3.0 billion to $33.9 billion). However, they fell with Japan (down $6.4 billion to $67.0 billion) and Mexico (down $618 million to $53.8 billion) in 2014.

The largest trade balance shift in 2014 occurred with China (see the China webpage for more detail). A $10.8 billion increase in U.S. imports of electronic products from China substantially contributed to the growing U.S. trade deficit with China, while U.S. merchandise exports to China marginally increased.

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¹ USGS, “Value of U.S. Mineral Production Increases,” January 30, 2015
² Trade data in this section consist of total exports and general imports as reported by U.S. Census. “Total exports” include both domestic exports and re-exports, i.e., goods that are imported into the United States and then exported without alteration in form, condition, or value. “General imports” include merchandise from foreign countries, whether or not it enters consumption channels immediately or is entered into bonded warehouses or U.S. foreign-trade zones. For further definitions of trade terms, see the “Trade Metrics” webpage, the “Trade Measure Definitions“ webpage, or https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/reference/definitions/.
³ The 10 sectors are agricultural products, chemicals and related products, electronic products, energy and related products, footwear, forest products, machinery, minerals and metals, textiles and apparel, and transportation equipment., respectively; accessed February 20, 2015).