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Maine ranks 33rd
Following a decline of 12.4 percent in November, exports from Maine’s
companies dropped again 5.7 percent in December to $182.9 million, adjusted
for seasonal variation. However, for the full 2004 calendar year, state
exports rose by $237 million from 2003, to $2.4 billion, the highest annual
level on record.
December’s decline in foreign sales was broad-based. Exports of manufactured
goods — which accounted for 71 percent of all sales abroad — declined in
December by 2.3 percent from the previous month, to $129.8 million.
Last year was a good year for state manufacturers doing business abroad and,
consequently, factory jobs tied to exports. For all of 2004, exports of
Maine goods surged by 16.2 percent to $1.9 billion, the best showing since
state exports data was first recorded in 1987.
Exports of non-manufactured goods went down 12.9 percent in December to
$53.1 million, also adjusted for seasonal variation.
The state’s overall export performance in 2004 translates to an annual
growth rate in foreign sales of 10.8, about the same gain as in 2003. As a
result, Maine ranked 33rd among the 50 states in export growth.
2005 outlook
What is the global economic outlook for 2005, which will determine
international trade and ultimately the demand for goods made in New
Hampshire? Forward-looking indicators signal that the international economic
outlook is expected to improve over the next three quarters.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a
highly-respected Paris-based think-tank whose members include the world’s 30
richest countries, reported this month that the group’s composite leading
economic indicator shows improved performance in its recent reading. More
important, the indicator’s annual growth rate – designed to provide early
signals of changing directions in global economic activity between
expansions and slowdowns – accelerated for a second month in a row.
These new numbers confirm the general view that the global economic
expansion will continue in 2005.
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