CLICK HERE. / " title="RHODE ISLAND EXPORTS fell 11.2 percent to $138.1 million in June.For a larger version of this map, CLICK HERE. /"/>PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island export data, which showed 13.0 percent growth in May, reversed the trend in June by falling 11.2 percent to $138.1 million compared with a month ago, e-forecasting.com reported.
“The worldwide slowdown in the economic recovery is holding back foreign demand for goods made in Rhode Island, resulting in a deceleration in the growth of production activities, which holds up the creation of new jobs,” said Evangelos Simos, chief economist of e-forecasting.com.
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Foreign sales of Rhode Island-manufactured goods decreased 5.4 percent to $88.4 million from a month earlier; the export of non-manufactured goods also took a hit in June, tumbling 20.2 percent to $49.7 million.
“Indicators that gauge current economic conditions in industrial countries show signs of an end to a short-lived recovery boom, which followed massive government spending and low interest rates,” said Simos. “In line with global business trends is an undergoing slowdown in the foreign demand for American goods.”
On a national level, exports of goods fell 2.2 percent in June to $105.0 billion from May; capital goods, which include industrial supplies and materials as well as foods, feeds and beverages, hit their lowest level since September 2009.
Nevertheless, Rhode Island factories, where one in every 5 jobs is tied to exports, grew in shipment volume by $10.2 million in June 2010 compared with the same month a year earlier.
In comparison with the first six months of 2009, Rhode Island’s foreign sales increased at an annual rate of 30.5 percent, with seasonal adjustment. Nationally, exports grew 22.2 percent for the same period. The Ocean State ranked 16th in the nation for export growth in the first half of the year.
The decline in foreign demand weighed on the U.S. economic rebound this quarter, resulting in more job losses like those experienced during the major turndown, e-forecasting.com noted.
“Looking forward, leading indicators point to a weakening outlook for export growth,” said Simos. “U.S. supply executives continue to see short-term prospects for their foreign sales favorably but not as good in the recent past.”
