
PART A:    SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

EXHIBIT 8. IMPORTS OF GOODS BY END-USE CATEGORY AND COMMODITY

(In millions of dollars. Details may not equal totals due to seasonal
adjustment and rounding. The commodities in this exhibit are ranked on 
the month-to-month change within each major commodity grouping. 
(-) Represents zero or less than one half unit of measurement shown.
(R) Revised.)

                                                                    
                                         March      February       Monthly
              Item(1)                    1998       (R) 1998       Change

Total, Balance of Payments Basis         77,722       74,085        3,637
Net Adjustments                             506          214          292
Total, Census Basis                      77,216       73,870        3,346

Foods, feeds, and beverages               3,586        3,479          107

Vegetables                                  303          247           56
Meat products                               388          343           45
Fruits, frozen juices                       351          319           32
Food oils, oilseeds                         135          115           20
Tea, spices, etc.                            65           47           18
Other foods                                 221          203           17
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                   197          181           16
Wine and related products                   312          297           15
Feedstuff and foodgrains                    145          133           12
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                  45           37            8
Dairy products and eggs                      63           61            2
Bakery products                             204          205           -1
Nuts                                         60           63           -3
Cocoa beans                                  85          108          -23
Cane and beet sugar                          32           60          -29
Green coffee                                341          375          -33
Fish and shellfish                          638          685          -46

Industrial supplies and materials        16,886       16,710          175

Chemicals-organic                           968          853          114
Iron and steel mill products                973          882           92
Nuclear fuel materials                      132           50           82
Tobacco, waxes, etc                         340          292           48
Industrial supplies, other                  969          922           47
Nonmonetary gold                            386          342           44
Nickel                                      109           65           43
Nonferrous metals, other                    166          133           33
Natural rubber                               95           68           27
Chemicals-inorganic                         382          356           26
Copper                                      191          169           22
Pulpwood and woodpulp                       220          203           17
Bauxite and aluminum                        556          542           14
Synthetic cloth                             377          363           14
Fuel oil                                    369          356           13
Electric energy                              75           62           12
Coal and related fuels                       63           51           12
Finished metal shapes                       452          440           11
Synthetic rubber--primary                   118          108           10
Iron and steel, advanced                    334          324            9
Steelmaking materials                       321          314            7
Tin                                          21           14            7
Hair, waste materials                        31           24            6
Cotton cloth, fabrics                       193          187            6
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                     46           41            5
Plywood and veneers                          99           94            5
Leather and furs                             97           92            5
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                   209          205            5
Farming materials, livestock                 56           51            5
Blank tapes, audio & visual                 159          156            4
Cotton, natural fibers                       18           15            3
Hides and skins                              16           16           -1
Wool, silk, etc.                             70           70           -1
Chemicals-fertilizers                       274          275           -1
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                 47           49           -2
Shingles, wallboard                         404          406           -2
Zinc                                         76           79           -3
Nontextile floor tiles                      127          131           -3
Finished textile supplies                   142          146           -4
Paper and paper products                    420          425           -5
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.             332          342           -9
Other precious metals                       266          276          -10
Plastic materials                           509          522          -13
Materials, exc. chemicals                   123          140          -17
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                     428          448          -20
Newsprint                                   311          334          -23
Lumber                                      578          613          -35
Liquified petroleum gases                   231          273          -42
Petroleum products, other                   509          596          -86
Gas-natural                                 350          490         -139
Crude oil                                 3,146        3,303         -157

Capital goods, except automotive         23,126       21,769        1,357

Engines-civilian aircraft                   843          588          255
Civilian aircraft                           532          361          171
Telecommunications equipment              1,555        1,428          127
Computers                                   714          593          121
Excavating machinery                        519          411          109
Measuring, testing, control instru          687          612           75
Wood, glass, plastic                        427          360           67
Metalworking machine tools                  730          663           67
Pulp and paper machinery                    390          327           63
Parts-civilian aircraft                     452          405           48
Railway transpor. equipment                 201          164           36
Textile, sewing machines                    246          213           33
Computer accessories                      5,222        5,190           32
Drilling & oilfield equipment               154          122           32
Materials handling equipment                455          431           23
Laboratory testing instruments              136          114           22
Marine engines, parts                        71           54           17
Photo, service industry                     606          589           17
Generators, accessories                     707          691           16
Agricultural machinery, equipment           393          379           14
Medicinal equipment                         624          612           13
Nonfarm tractors and parts                   73           65            8
Business machines and equipment             642          637            6
Industrial engines                          615          612            3
Spacecraft, exc. military                     1            1          (-)
Vessels, except scrap                       (-)          (-)          (-)
Semiconductors                            3,029        3,030           -1
Commercial vessels, other                     2            4           -1
Specialized mining                           27           31           -4
Food, tobacco machinery                     106          110           -4
Industrial machines, other                1,204        1,208           -4
Electric apparatus                        1,761        1,766           -5

Automotive vehicles, parts & engine      13,084       12,378          706

Consumer goods                           17,906       16,907          999

Pharmaceutical prep                       1,478        1,130          347
Toys/games/sporting goods                 1,657        1,475          182
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.             473          300          173
Other household goods                     1,311        1,240           72
Footwear                                    964          915           49
Stereo equipment, etc                       719          673           47
Jewelry                                     665          621           45
Writing and art supplies                    664          631           33
TV's, VCR's, etc                          1,048        1,018           30
Gem diamonds                                708          678           30
Pleasure boats and motors                   138          110           28
Household appliances                        547          520           27
Photo equipment                             180          155           25
Gem stones, other                           111           86           24
Apparel,household goods-nontextile          478          454           24
Apparel, household goods - wool             286          276           10
Toiletries and cosmetics                    221          213            8
Glassware, chinaware                        175          169            6
Furniture, household goods, etc.            795          790            5
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto       1,694        1,689            4
Musical instruments                         103          100            3
Books, printed matter                       234          231            3
Numismatic coins                             20           22           -2
Cookware, cutlery, tools                    284          286           -2
Records, tapes, and disks                    89           92           -3
Nursery stock, etc.                          83           91           -8
Rugs                                         78           87           -9
Motorcycles and parts                       119          135          -15
Camping apparel and gear                    399          451          -51
Apparel, household goods - cotton         2,184        2,270          -86

Other Goods                               2,628        2,628            1
_________________________________________________________________________

                                       Year to      Year to      Year to 
                                       Date         Date         Date
              Item(1)                  1998         1997         Change

Total, Balance of Payments Basis        226,821      212,185       14,636
Net Adjustments                           1,288        2,132         -844
Total, Census Basis                     225,533      210,053       15,480

Foods, feeds, and beverages              10,419        9,516          903

Vegetables                                  834          706          129
Meat products                             1,081          980          101
Fruits, frozen juices                       966        1,011          -45
Food oils, oilseeds                         376          415          -40
Tea, spices, etc.                           165          141           24
Other foods                                 602          536           66
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                   539          544           -4
Wine and related products                   897          767          131
Feedstuff and foodgrains                    410          434          -24
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                 124          122            2
Dairy products and eggs                     188          183            5
Bakery products                             599          503           96
Nuts                                        175          179           -4
Cocoa beans                                 277          145          132
Cane and beet sugar                         129          285         -156
Green coffee                              1,044          815          230
Fish and shellfish                        2,012        1,751          261

Industrial supplies and materials        50,902       53,533       -2,630

Chemicals-organic                         2,795        2,795          (-)
Iron and steel mill products              2,750        2,717           33
Nuclear fuel materials                      273          310          -37
Tobacco, waxes, etc                         968          964            4
Industrial supplies, other                2,777        2,551          226
Nonmonetary gold                          1,002          818          184
Nickel                                      280          315          -35
Nonferrous metals, other                    472          448           25
Natural rubber                              260          357          -96
Chemicals-inorganic                       1,083          974          109
Copper                                      552          567          -15
Pulpwood and woodpulp                       656          673          -16
Bauxite and aluminum                      1,664        1,333          332
Synthetic cloth                           1,100        1,035           65
Fuel oil                                  1,153        1,686         -532
Electric energy                             201          202           -1
Coal and related fuels                      177          151           27
Finished metal shapes                     1,319        1,189          130
Synthetic rubber--primary                   330          294           36
Iron and steel, advanced                    977          915           61
Steelmaking materials                       936          692          245
Tin                                          53           67          -14
Hair, waste materials                        81           85           -4
Cotton cloth, fabrics                       547          495           52
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                    131          107           24
Plywood and veneers                         289          268           21
Leather and furs                            281          255           26
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                   611          481          130
Farming materials, livestock                183          147           36
Blank tapes, audio & visual                 477          523          -46
Cotton, natural fibers                       56           62           -6
Hides and skins                              49           56           -7
Wool, silk, etc.                            219          211            8
Chemicals-fertilizers                       817          819           -2
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                147          166          -19
Shingles, wallboard                       1,189          967          222
Zinc                                        232          269          -37
Nontextile floor tiles                      386          332           53
Finished textile supplies                   420          384           36
Paper and paper products                  1,281        1,036          244
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.             989          813          175
Other precious metals                       789          492          297
Plastic materials                         1,529        1,361          169
Materials, exc. chemicals                   390          382            8
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                   1,311        1,211          100
Newsprint                                   943          884           59
Lumber                                    1,769        1,830          -61
Liquified petroleum gases                   800        1,433         -633
Petroleum products, other                 1,534        2,273         -739
Gas-natural                               1,415        1,377           38
Crude oil                                10,256       13,759       -3,503

Capital goods, except automotive         66,664       59,345        7,320

Engines-civilian aircraft                 2,044        1,674          370
Civilian aircraft                         1,252          745          507
Telecommunications equipment              4,428        3,722          706
Computers                                 1,830        1,975         -145
Excavating machinery                      1,311          944          367
Measuring, testing, control instru        1,907        1,566          342
Wood, glass, plastic                      1,168        1,152           16
Metalworking machine tools                2,082        2,093          -11
Pulp and paper machinery                  1,015          964           51
Parts-civilian aircraft                   1,195          991          204
Railway transpor. equipment                 484          283          201
Textile, sewing machines                    652          500          152
Computer accessories                     15,906       14,411        1,495
Drilling & oilfield equipment               404          220          184
Materials handling equipment              1,295          975          319
Laboratory testing instruments              373          256          118
Marine engines, parts                       179          154           25
Photo, service industry                   1,768        1,558          210
Generators, accessories                   2,080        1,954          126
Agricultural machinery, equipment         1,155          930          225
Medicinal equipment                       1,826        1,642          184
Nonfarm tractors and parts                  202          163           39
Business machines and equipment           1,928        1,744          184
Industrial engines                        1,843        1,593          250
Spacecraft, exc. military                     2            2          (-)
Vessels, except scrap                       (-)          (-)          (-)
Semiconductors                            8,982        8,670          312
Commercial vessels, other                     8            6            2
Specialized mining                           92          202         -110
Food, tobacco machinery                     329          316           13
Industrial machines, other                3,620        3,246          374
Electric apparatus                        5,306        4,696          610

Automotive vehicles, parts & engine      37,356       35,406        1,950

Consumer goods                           52,124       45,321        6,802

Pharmaceutical prep                       3,886        2,801        1,085
Toys/games/sporting goods                 4,764        4,079          685
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.           1,223        1,114          108
Other household goods                     3,826        3,488          338
Footwear                                  2,798        2,707           91
Stereo equipment, etc                     2,125        1,795          330
Jewelry                                   1,908        1,684          224
Writing and art supplies                  1,925        1,681          244
TV's, VCR's, etc                          2,935        2,533          401
Gem diamonds                              2,097        1,733          364
Pleasure boats and motors                   346          385          -39
Household appliances                      1,602        1,377          226
Photo equipment                             510          538          -29
Gem stones, other                           327          310           17
Apparel,household goods-nontextile        1,412        1,318           95
Apparel, household goods - wool             818          696          122
Toiletries and cosmetics                    628          563           65
Glassware, chinaware                        510          483           26
Furniture, household goods, etc.          2,347        1,914          433
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto       5,134        4,479          655
Musical instruments                         300          279           20
Books, printed matter                       688          623           65
Numismatic coins                             62           86          -24
Cookware, cutlery, tools                    862          766           95
Records, tapes, and disks                   286          232           55
Nursery stock, etc.                         281          247           34
Rugs                                        251          226           25
Motorcycles and parts                       358          296           63
Camping apparel and gear                  1,330        1,340          -10
Apparel, household goods - cotton         6,584        5,545        1,038

Other Goods                               8,067        6,932        1,135

(1) Detailed data are presented on a Census basis.  The information needed 
    to convert to a BOP basis is not available.

SOURCE: Report FT900 (CB-98-85), Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade
        Division, MARCH 1998.  For more information, contact Haydn R. 
        Mearkle (301-457-2246) or Richard M. Preuss (301-457-2311), 
        Foreign Trade Division.