Below are highlights from the recently released trade data from the US Census Bureau and US Bureau of Economic Analysis. To view additional data and analysis related to the California economy visit our website at www.centerforjobs.org/ca.
The June trade numbers for California continued to show lower activity. Total trade through the state’s ports was down 12.1% from June 2022 in nominal terms, while origin exports were off 4.8% and destination imports dropped 18.6%.
Year to date, overall trade activity has trended lower. Considered in real terms, trade through the state’s ports in the first six months has remained below pre-pandemic 2019 in all but March. Due to the current deflationary trend in both export and import prices, the gap narrows somewhat when comparing the 2022 data in constant dollars, but a clear decline is evident due to prolonged uncertainty stemming from the labor situation combined with increasing costs from state and regional regulations.
California Goods Exports
Total California goods exports were down $0.8 billion from June 2022 (down 4.8%). California remained in 2nd place with 8.84% of all US goods exports (12 month moving total), behind Texas at 22.53%.
California Goods Imports
Total California destination goods imports dropped $8.5 billion from June 2022 (down 18.6%).
Top 20 Exports, June 2023
Top 20 exports by value are shown below, along with the change from Jun 2022.