R.I. ranks 20th in export growth YTD, after posting July gain

IN JULY, foreign sales of Rhode Island made goods increased $41.1 million, or 21.8 percent, on a month-over-month basis, following a decrease of 1 percent in June, according to e-forecasting.com. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM
IN JULY, foreign sales of Rhode Island made goods increased $41.1 million, or 21.8 percent, on a month-over-month basis, following a decrease of 1 percent in June, according to e-forecasting.com. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked 20th in export growth among the 50 states during the first seven months of 2014, posting a 5.1 percent increase in foreign sales, according to figures from e-forecasting.com.
In comparison, Hawaii ranked first in export growth, and Utah ranked last. Massachusetts ranked 13th and Connecticut 37th.
In July, foreign sales of Rhode Island goods increased $41.1 million, or 21.8 percent, on a month-over-month basis following a decrease of 1 percent in June, bringing the value of state exports to $229.6 million, a seasonally adjusted figure.
On a year-over-year basis, exporting companies shipped $76.9 million, or 50.4 percent more goods than in July 2013.
Foreign sales of manufactured goods – a major contributor to the state’s economic development – accounted for 53 percent of all state exports in July.
Sales abroad from Rhode Island’s factories increased in July by 19.7 percent from the previous month to $122.2 million, adjusted for seasonal variation.
On an annual basis, the latest numbers of exports from state factories were $26.4 million higher than last year’s reading in July.
Changes in sales abroad have implications for jobs in Rhode Island, according to a press release from e-forecasting.com.
It is estimated that about one in every five local factory jobs is tied to exports due to the high labor content of manufactures in the chain of production.

Exports of non-manufactured goods increased 24.3 percent in July to $107.4 million, seasonally adjusted, from June. This group of shipments abroad consists of agricultural goods, mining products and re-exports, which are foreign goods that entered Rhode Island as imports and are exported in substantially the same condition as when imported.

According to statistics compiled by the World Trade Organization, global trade continued to grow at a moderate pace in July. In the first seven months of 2014, the value of world merchandise exports rose 2.6 percent to $9.9 trillion dollars from the same period in 2013.

WTO trade statistics from January to July of 2014 show that the United States maintained its position as the second largest exporter in the world with foreign sales hitting $944 billion, which is 3.2 percent, or $29 billion more, than the first seven months of 2013.

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China, the world’s leading exporter, sold abroad $1.275 billion worth of merchandise so far this year, 3 percent more than a year ago. Germany was ranked the world’s third-largest exporter, posting $903 billion in foreign sales in 2014, 7.8 percent more than a year ago.

The outlook over the next few months for exports of manufactured goods depends on the pace of incoming orders from foreign buyers.
According to the August business survey conducted by the Institute of Supply Management, the nation’s purchasing executives are optimistic about the prospects of selling abroad their products.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based research institute reported that its export indicator showed an expansion in incoming export orders for the 21st month in a row.

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