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March was
another strong month for New Hampshire’s exporters. Foreign sales from local
companies, adjusted for seasonal variation, rose 1.6 percent from February
to $185 million.
Compared with last year, the latest snapshot of state exports showed solid
increases in foreigners’ appetite for made-in-New Hampshire goods.
Exports of manufactured goods — adjusted for seasonal effects — increased
2.6 percent from the previous month to $154 million.
Manufactured goods accounted for 83 percent of all state exports in March.
Most important, March’s shipments abroad from local factories were $28
million higher than a year ago.
This is good news for the creation of new factory jobs locally. The trade
composition of state exports implies that one in every four local factory
jobs is tied to exports.
Despite the recent gains in labor productivity — which have adverse effects
on employment — the revival in foreign demand for manufactured goods is
creating a recovery of jobs lost in the last three years.
Exports of non-manufactured goods totaled $31 million in March, a 3.9
percent decline from February. This group of shipments abroad consists of
agricultural goods, mining products and re-exports, which are foreign
merchandise that entered the state as imports and now are exported.
At the national level, exports of goods, seasonally adjusted, rose 3.5
percent in March to $67.2 billion from February.
What’s the outlook for exports the rest of the year?
In its latest semiannual World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) provided a very optimistic outlook.
First, the IMF assessed that economic recovery is now under way in all
regions of the globe.
Second, the outlook indicates that prospects on worldwide growth are much
stronger than reported last fall.
Lastly, the IMF report recognizes for the first time that "emerging Asia",
which includes the two most populous countries, India and China, has become
a major driver of the current global recovery.
Because of better than expected improvements in the world economy during the
last six months, the IMF adjusted upwards its forecast for growth in global
output to 4.6 percent for 2004. The global growth is expected to continue
next year, with output growth of 4.4 percent.
This would be the strongest growth rate in more than a decade for the
worldwide output and, consequently, global demand for goods and services.
Thus, the IMF’s outlook translates into strong demand for American goods
during 2004-05. As a result, local manufacturers are expected to receive
more orders from abroad leading to new hiring.
Maine improving
Maine companies continued to export at a strong pace in March.
Adjusted for seasonal effects, exports totaled $171 million, 56 percent less
than last month, reflecting a natural pullback from February’s record
performance caused by a unique $250 million shipment to Brazil.
Despite the monthly decline in March, the state’s exporters sold $12 million
more made-in-Maine products than in March of 2003, suggesting an improved
underlying trend.
Foreign sales of electrical machinery, the state’s largest exporting
industry, accounted for 27 percent of all state exports in March.
Local factories shipped abroad $49 million of electrical equipment,
appliances, and components, which was 5 percent more than in March of 2003.
International sales of paper and paperboard products, the state’s
second-largest exporting industry, had an exceptional performance in March.
Exports of paper-related goods totaled $29 million, a 35 percent jump
compared to a year ago.
Lastly, international shipments of fish and seafood products, a vital
industry for Maine’s economy, totaled $6 million in March, which is a 56
percent surge from March 2003.
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