R.I. 13th in nation for YTD export growth in May

E-FORECASTING.COM SAID Rhode Island ranked 13th nationwide for its 1.5 percent year-over-year export growth for the first five months of the year. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM
E-FORECASTING.COM SAID Rhode Island ranked 13th nationwide for its 1.5 percent year-over-year export growth for the first five months of the year. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked 13th among the 50 states for its 1.5 percent year-over-year export growth for the first five months of the year, according to e-forecasting.com. Counting January through May shipments, the Ocean State has exported $919.8 million.

Hawaii ranked first for 38.2 percent growth, while Idaho and Louisiana were tied for last with nearly 24 percent declines.

Exports from Rhode Island totaled $198.5 million in May, a 0.7 percent drop from May 2014’s $199.8 million, e-forecasting.com said. The number is adjusted for seasonal variation, to smooth out monthly fluctuations such as the number of working days in a month, e-forecasting.com said.

E-forecasting.com said that Rhode Island’s foreign sales in May reflected the mix of trends in foreigners’ demand for goods made by different industries. Overseas shipments from Ocean State manufacturers, which accounted for 70 percent of all exports, numbered $138.4 million, 7.4 percent more than a year ago at the same time.

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Farming and mining products, including re-exports, which is foreign merchandise that entered the state as imports and are exported in substantially the same condition as when imported, totaled $60.1 million in May, a decrease of 15.2 percent compared with May 2014.

In comparison, total U.S. exports were $127.7 billion in May, a drop of 7 percent over the year.

E-forecasting.com said that the International Monetary Fund forecasts the volume of global trade to grow 4.1 percent this year and by 4.4 percent next year. In 2014, there was a 3.2 percent increase in global trade.

The United States was the second-largest exporter in the world so far this year with foreign sales reaching $630 billion, a 5.1 percent decrease from the year-ago period. China was the world’s leading exporter with $881 billion worth of goods sold, about the same amount as last year, e-forecasting.com said.

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