03/29/2024

California Trade Report

October 6, 2015 – The value of California’s merchandise export trade in August plummeted from the same month last year, according to a Beacon Economics’ analysis of foreign trade data released this morning by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The state’s exports of goods to foreign markets in August totaled $13.24 billion, down 9% from the $14.55 billion recorded in August 2014. By way of comparison, overall U.S. merchandise exports fell by 10.4% over the same period, while exports from Texas shrank by nearly one-fifth (19.1%).

“The numbers look worse than they actually are due to the rapid appreciation of the U.S. dollar over the past year along with globally declining commodity prices,” said Beacon Economics’ Founding Partner Christopher Thornberg. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of U.S. exports has fallen about 7% over the last year, explaining most of the drop in nominal exports. “This implies that real exports are only modestly off the mark, a relief for workers but not so much for companies’ bottom lines,”’said Thornberg.

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