
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.)

                                                         
                                  April     March    Monthly
            Item(1)                1998       1998    Change

Total, Balance of Payments Basis   76,757    77,720      -964
Net Adjustments                       318       508      -190
Total, Census Basis                76,439    77,212      -773

Foods, feeds, and beverages         3,404     3,546      -142

Green coffee                          289       341       -51
Fruits, frozen juices                 306       351       -45
Meat products                         330       366       -37
Cocoa beans                            57        85       -29
Food oils, oilseeds                   120       139       -19
Feedstuff and foodgrains              129       144       -15
Bakery products                       189       203       -15
Wine and related products             301       315       -14
Nonagricultural foods, etc.            39        46        -7
Tea, spices, etc.                      62        65        -3
Nuts                                   58        59        -2
Other foods                           208       209        -1
Vegetables                            295       293         2
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine             186       183         3
Dairy products and eggs                65        60         5
Cane and beet sugar                    65        31        33
Fish and shellfish                    706       655        51

Industrial supplies and material   17,399    16,733       667

Crude oil                           3,662     3,170       491
Other precious metals                 469       266       203
Iron and steel mill products        1,038       942        96
Chemicals-organic                     981       917        64
Tobacco, waxes, etc                   385       338        46
Farming materials, livestock           91        54        37
Petroleum products, other             518       494        24
Finished metal shapes                 466       445        20
Fuel oil                              390       374        16
Liquified petroleum gases             244       230        14
Electric energy                        97        83        14
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.       343       333        10
Plywood and veneers                   107        98         9
Paper and paper products              422       414         8
Chemicals-fertilizers                 267       259         8
Copper                                195       190         5
Wool, silk, etc.                       77        73         5
Newsprint                             313       308         4
Nontextile floor tiles                133       130         4
Coal and related fuels                 65        62         3
Iron and steel, advanced              342       339         3
Cotton, natural fibers                 20        18         1
Steelmaking materials                 317       315         1
Blank tapes, audio & visual           160       158         1
Synthetic cloth                       372       370         1
Zinc                                   77        76         1
Hair, waste materials                  28        28        (-)
Lumber                                587       587        -1
Shingles, wallboard                   410       411        -1
Finished textile supplies             140       141        -1
Leather and furs                       92        94        -1
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.               45        46        -2
Hides and skins                        14        17        -3
Tin                                    16        21        -5
Gas-natural                           346       354        -7
Materials, exc. chemicals             115       123        -8
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.               418       428       -10
Pulpwood and woodpulp                 210       220       -10
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals           33        45       -12
Synthetic rubber--primary             105       117       -12
Natural rubber                         81        94       -14
Bauxite and aluminum                  498       514       -16
Stone, sand, cement, etc.             200       216       -16
Cotton cloth, fabrics                 184       201       -17
Nonferrous metals, other              148       166       -18
Nickel                                 80       109       -29
Plastic materials                     475       505       -30
Industrial supplies, other            912       959       -47
Chemicals-inorganic                   321       372       -51
Nuclear fuel materials                 77       132       -55
Nonmonetary gold                      315       371       -56

Capital goods, except automotive   22,302    23,090      -788

Computers                             588       737      -149
Computer accessories                5,308     5,453      -146
Engines-civilian aircraft             744       851      -107
Measuring, testing, control inst      611       681       -70
Pulp and paper machinery              321       390       -69
Electric apparatus                  1,690     1,758       -68
Metalworking machine tools            656       716       -60
Semiconductors                      2,891     2,944       -53
Drilling & oilfield equipment         105       156       -51
Telecommunications equipment        1,490     1,537       -47
Parts-civilian aircraft               407       453       -47
Railway transpor. equipment           170       201       -31
Generators, accessories               684       712       -28
Industrial engines                    573       595       -23
Textile, sewing machines              216       227       -11
Nonfarm tractors and parts             64        73        -9
Excavating machinery                  472       481        -9
Specialized mining                     22        27        -5
Materials handling equipment          441       443        -2
Business machines and equipment       639       641        -1
Vessels, except scrap                  (-)       (-)       (-)
Spacecraft, exc. military               1         1        (-)
Civilian aircraft                     491       491        (-)
Marine engines, parts                  71        70         1
Commercial vessels, other               3         2         1
Food, tobacco machinery               107       105         2
Agricultural machinery, equipmen      408       399         9
Laboratory testing instruments        140       129        11
Wood, glass, plastic                  431       395        36
Medicinal equipment                   651       612        39
Photo, service industry               646       604        42
Industrial machines, other          1,261     1,205        57

Auto. vehicles, parts and engine   12,163    12,974      -811

Consumer goods                     18,304    18,213        92

Gem diamonds                          813       707       106
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.       488       428        60
Jewelry                               679       621        59
Nursery stock, etc.                   112        77        35
Camping apparel and gear              448       413        35
TV's, VCR's, etc                    1,059     1,028        31
Furniture, household goods, etc.      827       796        31
Cookware, cutlery, tools              306       285        21
Writing and art supplies              691       672        19
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or co    1,836     1,819        17
Apparel, household goods - wool       293       276        16
Rugs                                   90        79        11
Records, tapes, and disks              98        88        10
Numismatic coins                       22        20         2
Musical instruments                   105       105        (-)
Household appliances                  556       556        -1
Photo equipment                       170       173        -2
Books, printed matter                 234       237        -3
Glassware, chinaware                  171       177        -6
Toiletries and cosmetics              210       222       -12
Gem stones, other                     103       116       -13
Apparel, household goods - cotto    2,251     2,267       -16
Apparel,household goods-nontexti      467       483       -16
Footwear                              926       943       -17
Pharmaceutical prep                 1,425     1,443       -18
Pleasure boats and motors             110       136       -26
Other household goods               1,333     1,362       -28
Motorcycles and parts                 112       148       -36
Stereo equipment, etc                 691       742       -50
Toys/games/sporting goods           1,680     1,796      -116

Other Goods                         2,866     2,657       210
___________________________________________________________           

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

Total, Balance of Payments Basis  303,924   286,053    17,871
Net Adjustments                     1,629     3,161    -1,532
Total, Census Basis               302,295   282,892    19,403

Foods, feeds, and beverages        13,836    12,852       984

Green coffee                        1,333     1,145       188
Fruits, frozen juices               1,294     1,374       -80
Meat products                       1,401     1,330        70
Cocoa beans                           334       197       137
Food oils, oilseeds                   499       542       -43
Feedstuff and foodgrains              538       587       -49
Bakery products                       785       666       120
Wine and related products           1,208     1,044       164
Nonagricultural foods, etc.           163       170        -7
Tea, spices, etc.                     226       197        28
Nuts                                  225       234        -9
Other foods                           797       717        80
Vegetables                          1,129       929       200
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine             719       742       -23
Dairy products and eggs               256       245        11
Cane and beet sugar                   194       344      -151
Fish and shellfish                  2,737     2,390       346

Industrial supplies and material   68,238    71,409    -3,172

Crude oil                          13,920    18,397    -4,476
Other precious metals               1,258       693       565
Iron and steel mill products        3,788     3,654       133
Chemicals-organic                   3,762     3,699        63
Tobacco, waxes, etc                 1,350     1,313        37
Farming materials, livestock          271       209        62
Petroleum products, other           2,035     2,946      -911
Finished metal shapes               1,783     1,590       194
Fuel oil                            1,545     2,134      -588
Liquified petroleum gases           1,042     1,758      -716
Electric energy                       324       321         3
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.     1,335     1,092       243
Plywood and veneers                   394       364        30
Paper and paper products            1,694     1,383       311
Chemicals-fertilizers               1,067     1,062         5
Copper                                746       773       -27
Wool, silk, etc.                      297       284        14
Newsprint                           1,248     1,169        79
Nontextile floor tiles                520       451        69
Coal and related fuels                243       214        29
Iron and steel, advanced            1,319     1,226        93
Cotton, natural fibers                 76        81        -5
Steelmaking materials               1,245       941       304
Blank tapes, audio & visual           646       711       -64
Synthetic cloth                     1,467     1,374        94
Zinc                                  309       406       -97
Hair, waste materials                 108       111        -3
Lumber                              2,368     2,502      -134
Shingles, wallboard                 1,617     1,318       299
Finished textile supplies             562       519        43
Leather and furs                      370       345        25
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.              176       148        28
Hides and skins                        63        74       -11
Tin                                    69        90       -20
Gas-natural                         1,714     1,767       -52
Materials, exc. chemicals             506       509        -3
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.             1,732     1,628       104
Pulpwood and woodpulp                 867       881       -14
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals          178       206       -28
Synthetic rubber--primary             436       396        40
Natural rubber                        341       467      -127
Bauxite and aluminum                2,144     1,801       343
Stone, sand, cement, etc.             818       649       170
Cotton cloth, fabrics                 739       672        67
Nonferrous metals, other              620       609        10
Nickel                                360       407       -47
Plastic materials                   2,015     1,838       177
Industrial supplies, other          3,688     3,426       262
Chemicals-inorganic                 1,408     1,317        91
Nuclear fuel materials                351       399       -49
Nonmonetary gold                    1,302     1,089       213

Capital goods, except automotive   89,526    80,705     8,821

Computers                           2,505     2,749      -244
Computer accessories               21,480    19,851     1,628
Engines-civilian aircraft           2,803     2,229       574
Measuring, testing, control inst    2,509     2,104       405
Pulp and paper machinery            1,341     1,274        66
Electric apparatus                  6,997     6,301       696
Metalworking machine tools          2,735     2,765       -30
Semiconductors                     12,109    11,888       221
Drilling & oilfield equipment         511       294       216
Telecommunications equipment        5,903     4,993       910
Parts-civilian aircraft             1,606     1,370       237
Railway transpor. equipment           653       389       265
Generators, accessories             2,771     2,634       137
Industrial engines                  2,390     2,121       269
Textile, sewing machines              862       661       202
Nonfarm tractors and parts            265       225        40
Excavating machinery                1,784     1,283       501
Specialized mining                    115       292      -177
Materials handling equipment        1,714     1,315       400
Business machines and equipment     2,572     2,365       207
Vessels, except scrap                  (-)       (-)       (-)
Spacecraft, exc. military               4         2         1
Civilian aircraft                   1,701     1,042       659
Marine engines, parts                 249       209        39
Commercial vessels, other              12         9         3
Food, tobacco machinery               432       426         7
Agricultural machinery, equipmen    1,574     1,265       309
Laboratory testing instruments        514       342       172
Wood, glass, plastic                1,604     1,574        29
Medicinal equipment                 2,481     2,201       280
Photo, service industry             2,431     2,104       326
Industrial machines, other          4,902     4,427       475

Auto. vehicles, parts and engine   49,159    46,870     2,289

Consumer goods                     70,588    61,650     8,938

Gem diamonds                        2,896     2,356       540
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.     1,756     1,539       217
Jewelry                             2,518     2,189       329
Nursery stock, etc.                   385       321        64
Camping apparel and gear            1,781     1,831       -50
TV's, VCR's, etc                    3,997     3,425       572
Furniture, household goods, etc.    3,159     2,566       593
Cookware, cutlery, tools            1,157     1,023       134
Writing and art supplies            2,633     2,285       348
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or co    7,120     6,231       888
Apparel, household goods - wool     1,107       960       146
Rugs                                  343       306        37
Records, tapes, and disks             381       307        73
Numismatic coins                       84       102       -17
Musical instruments                   404       368        36
Household appliances                2,163     1,892       272
Photo equipment                       676       713       -37
Books, printed matter                 923       836        86
Glassware, chinaware                  686       646        40
Toiletries and cosmetics              841       755        86
Gem stones, other                     432       422        10
Apparel, household goods - cotto    8,886     7,587     1,299
Apparel,household goods-nontexti    1,849     1,719       130
Footwear                            3,663     3,587        76
Pharmaceutical prep                 5,281     3,978     1,303
Pleasure boats and motors             449       506       -57
Other household goods               5,163     4,677       487
Motorcycles and parts                 477       405        72
Stereo equipment, etc               2,813     2,392       421
Toys/games/sporting goods           6,564     5,724       840

Other Goods                        10,948     9,405     1,543

(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-98-101), Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade
        Division, APRIL 1998.  For more information, contact Haydn R. 
        Mearkle (301-457-2246) or Richard M. Preuss (301-457-2311), 
        Foreign Trade Division.