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Following six
months of momentum, foreign sales of made-in-New Hampshire goods plunged by
11.2 percent in April.
The $20.4
million decline from the previous month brought exports, adjusted for
seasonal variation, to $162.1 million in April.
April’s decline in shipments abroad was broad-based. Manufacturers’ foreign
sales went down sharply in April. Exports of goods made in New Hampshire
factories dropped 12.2 percent from the previous month. Manufactured goods
accounted for 82 percent of all state exports in April.
Compared with April of last year, shipments abroad from state factories were
$3.4 million lower. This is not welcoming news for the Granite State as the
industrial mix of foreign sales implies that one in every four local factory
jobs is tied to exports.
Exports of non-manufactured goods totaled $29.1 million in April, a 6.1
percent decrease from March. This group of shipments abroad consists of
agricultural goods, mining products, and re-exports.
At the national level, exports of goods, adjusted for seasonal variation,
declined 2.3 percent in April to $65.8 billion from March, mainly reflecting
decreases in capital goods; industrial supplies and materials; foods, feeds,
and beverages; and automotive vehicles, parts, and engines.
In the first four months of this year, exports for the nation as a whole
grew by 12.5 percent, compared to the same period in 2003. Annual export
growth is a measure of the intensity that U.S. companies penetrate foreign
markets in the global economy.
New Hampshire ranked 28th among the 50 states for its export growth in the
first four months of this year. In the January to April period, New
Hampshire’s annual growth rate in foreign sales, adjusted for seasonal
variation, was 13.9 percent, slightly better than the national average.
What’s the outlook for exports? According to a recent business survey,
conducted by the Institute of Supply Management, the nation’s supply
executives continue to be optimistic about the prospects of growing export
markets.
The Tempe, Ariz.,-based research institute reported that their export orders
index grew in May for the 18th consecutive month.
Maine exports leap
Led by a strong demand for agricultural goods, foreign sales of
made-in-Maine goods leaped 8.4 percent in April.
The $14.4 million monthly rise from the previous month brought exports,
adjusted for seasonal variation, to $186.3 million in April. Compared with
last year, exporters shipped $10.6 million, or 6.0 percent, more goods than
in April of 2003.
Export gains were not even among industries. Shipments abroad of
manufactured goods dropped 1.1 percent from the previous month. But exports
of non-manufactured goods jumped 53.2 percent increase as the result of
solid gains in sales of vegetables, eggs, seeds and live trees.
Looking at export growth in 2004, Maine ranked ninth among the 50 states in
the first four months of this year.
Compared to the first four months of 2003, Maine’s exports, seasonally
adjusted, grew by 27.5 percent, twice the annual growth rate for the nation
as a whole.
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