
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.)

                                                                                                     
              Item(1)                 October   September (R)   Monthly
                                       1998          1998       Change

Total, Balance of Payments Basis         78,550       76,806        1,744
Net Adjustments                             563          546           17
Total, Census Basis                      77,987       76,261        1,727

Foods, feeds, and beverages               3,343        3,330           13

Meat products                               383          357           25
Tea, spices, etc.                            75           54           21
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                   185          166           19
Dairy products and eggs                      90           75           15
Wine and related products                   309          298           11
Fish and shellfish                          617          608            9
Bakery products                             215          207            8
Vegetables                                  308          300            7
Green coffee                                190          185            5
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                  43           39            4
Feedstuff and foodgrains                    133          135           -2
Food oils, oilseeds                         129          132           -4
Other foods                                 211          216           -5
Fruits, frozen juices                       330          337           -6
Nuts                                         48           56           -8
Cocoa beans                                  29           44          -14
Cane and beet sugar                          47          120          -73

Industrial supplies and materials        16,944       16,495          449

Crude oil                                 3,195        2,914          281
Chemicals-organic                           936          762          174
Fuel oil                                    525          412          113
Chemicals-inorganic                         362          319           43
Industrial supplies, other                  921          889           31
Petroleum products, other                   504          473           31
Nonmonetary gold                            295          274           21
Lumber                                      567          551           16
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.             362          347           15
Coal and related fuels                       71           58           13
Nonferrous metals, other                    145          132           12
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                   220          209           12
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                     413          402           11
Cotton, natural fibers                       17            7           10
Nickel                                       65           57            8
Synthetic rubber--primary                   107          100            7
Electric energy                             101           95            7
Paper and paper products                    397          391            6
Newsprint                                   307          301            6
Tobacco, waxes, etc                         293          288            6
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                     53           48            6
Plastic materials                           483          477            5
Iron and steel mill products              1,203        1,198            5
Finished textile supplies                   146          143            3
Zinc                                         95           92            3
Cotton cloth, fabrics                       179          177            2
Hair, waste materials                        31           29            2
Leather and furs                             79           77            2
Iron and steel, advanced                    323          321            2
Plywood and veneers                          96           94            1
Liquified petroleum gases                   212          211            1
Pulpwood and woodpulp                       195          196          (-)
Hides and skins                              11           14           -3
Synthetic cloth                             333          336           -3
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                 32           37           -5
Finished metal shapes                       461          467           -6
Nontextile floor tiles                      133          140           -6
Farming materials, livestock                 64           71           -7
Tin                                          16           23           -7
Wool, silk, etc.                             66           76          -11
Natural rubber                               78           90          -13
Shingles, wallboard                         443          458          -15
Blank tapes, audio & visual                 179          194          -15
Materials, exc. chemicals                   123          141          -18
Bauxite and aluminum                        493          514          -21
Copper                                      171          204          -32
Steelmaking materials                       233          271          -38
Other precious metals                       322          362          -40
Nuclear fuel materials                      147          201          -54
Gas-natural                                 487          541          -54
Chemicals-fertilizers                       257          315          -58

Capital goods, except automotive         22,984       22,236          748

Engines-civilian aircraft                   947          764          183
Civilian aircraft                           782          603          179
Computer accessories                      5,518        5,345          173
Pulp and paper machinery                    401          294          107
Metalworking machine tools                  832          753           79
Medicinal equipment                         713          665           48
Railway transpor. equipment                 186          153           33
Generators, accessories                     754          722           32
Measuring, testing, control instru          609          578           31
Computers                                   694          665           29
Photo, service industry                     611          582           29
Food, tobacco machinery                     120           99           21
Wood, glass, plastic                        409          388           21
Parts-civilian aircraft                     475          455           20
Industrial machines, other                1,187        1,168           19
Textile, sewing machines                    190          175           16
Excavating machinery                        472          462           10
Marine engines, parts                        67           59            8
Materials handling equipment                449          441            8
Specialized mining                           25           18            7
Nonfarm tractors and parts                   73           67            6
Laboratory testing instruments              152          149            3
Electric apparatus                        1,727        1,726            1
Commercial vessels, other                     3            2            1
Spacecraft, exc. military                     1          (-)            1
Vessels, except scrap                       (-)          (-)          (-)
Industrial engines                          638          640           -2
Drilling & oilfield equipment               119          141          -22
Business machines and equipment             559          599          -40
Agricultural machinery, equipment           347          401          -54
Semiconductors                            2,548        2,604          -55
Telecommunications equipment              1,376        1,518         -142

Auto. vehicles, parts and engines        13,309       12,960          349

Consumer goods                           18,162       18,014          148

Toys/games/sporting goods                 1,727        1,534          193
Other household goods                     1,452        1,369           84
Apparel, household goods - cotton         2,377        2,311           67
Jewelry                                     641          589           52
Pleasure boats and motors                   187          151           35
Writing and art supplies                    606          591           15
Stereo equipment, etc                       675          661           14
Furniture, household goods, etc.            818          808           10
Gem stones, other                           113          104            9
Household appliances                        544          539            6
Cookware, cutlery, tools                    287          281            6
Apparel, household goods - wool             274          269            5
Camping apparel and gear                    393          389            4
Toiletries and cosmetics                    212          208            4
Nursery stock, etc.                          88           84            4
Books, printed matter                       224          221            3
Rugs                                         97           96            1
Musical instruments                          97           98           -1
Photo equipment                             172          174           -2
Records, tapes, and disks                    98          100           -2
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.             435          439           -4
Glassware, chinaware                        182          188           -6
Numismatic coins                             38           45           -6
Apparel,household goods-nontextile          445          453           -8
Motorcycles and parts                       100          109           -9
TV's, VCR's, etc                          1,130        1,154          -24
Footwear                                    895          923          -28
Gem diamonds                                618          681          -63
Pharmaceutical prep                       1,526        1,612          -86
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto       1,709        1,834         -126

Other Goods                               3,246        3,226           20
_________________________________________________________________________
              
              Item(1)                 Year to      Year to      Year to
                                       Date         Date         Date
                                       1998         1997        Change

Total, Balance of Payments Basis        763,238      727,894       35,344
Net Adjustments                           4,438        5,945       -1,507
Total, Census Basis                     758,800      721,950       36,851

Foods, feeds, and beverages              34,337       32,937        1,399

Meat products                             3,580        3,452          128
Tea, spices, etc.                           616          547           69
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                 1,857        1,821           37
Dairy products and eggs                     727          594          133
Wine and related products                 3,007        2,691          317
Fish and shellfish                        6,805        6,350          455
Bakery products                           2,010        1,750          261
Vegetables                                2,910        2,390          520
Green coffee                              2,636        3,027         -392
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                 427          435           -8
Feedstuff and foodgrains                  1,319        1,499         -180
Food oils, oilseeds                       1,272        1,354          -82
Other foods                               2,037        1,854          183
Fruits, frozen juices                     3,345        3,379          -34
Nuts                                        550          530           20
Cocoa beans                                 568          369          198
Cane and beet sugar                         669          895         -226

Industrial supplies and materials       169,065      178,481       -9,416

Crude oil                                32,281       45,733      -13,451
Chemicals-organic                         9,024        9,305         -281
Fuel oil                                  4,063        4,730         -667
Chemicals-inorganic                       3,493        3,452           41
Industrial supplies, other                9,164        8,725          439
Petroleum products, other                 5,217        6,792       -1,575
Nonmonetary gold                          3,050        2,544          507
Lumber                                    5,704        6,257         -553
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.           3,450        2,919          531
Coal and related fuels                      652          575           77
Nonferrous metals, other                  1,463        1,545          -83
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                 2,088        1,716          372
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                   4,197        4,192            5
Cotton, natural fibers                      153          176          -24
Nickel                                      747          968         -221
Synthetic rubber--primary                 1,068        1,000           68
Electric energy                             898          813           84
Paper and paper products                  4,187        3,640          547
Newsprint                                 3,104        2,961          142
Tobacco, waxes, etc                       3,246        3,386         -140
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                    458          417           41
Plastic materials                         4,908        4,671          237
Iron and steel mill products             11,076        9,186        1,891
Finished textile supplies                 1,417        1,345           72
Zinc                                        874        1,093         -220
Cotton cloth, fabrics                     1,833        1,713          120
Hair, waste materials                       283          271           12
Leather and furs                            878          851           27
Iron and steel, advanced                  3,278        3,082          195
Plywood and veneers                         960          949           10
Liquified petroleum gases                 2,393        3,459       -1,066
Pulpwood and woodpulp                     2,089        2,205         -116
Hides and skins                             144          173          -28
Synthetic cloth                           3,549        3,467           82
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                404          448          -44
Finished metal shapes                     4,495        4,151          344
Nontextile floor tiles                    1,325        1,160          166
Farming materials, livestock                628          501          127
Tin                                         214          214            1
Wool, silk, etc.                            713          735          -22
Natural rubber                              837        1,054         -217
Shingles, wallboard                       4,273        3,436          837
Blank tapes, audio & visual               1,698        1,734          -36
Materials, exc. chemicals                 1,288        1,277           11
Bauxite and aluminum                      5,221        4,745          476
Copper                                    1,842        2,062         -219
Steelmaking materials                     2,918        2,449          469
Other precious metals                     3,228        2,002        1,226
Nuclear fuel materials                    1,152        1,060           93
Gas-natural                               4,595        4,515           80
Chemicals-fertilizers                     2,846        2,628          218

Capital goods, except automotive        224,568      210,194       14,374

Engines-civilian aircraft                 7,699        6,219        1,480
Civilian aircraft                         5,673        3,745        1,928
Computer accessories                     53,473       51,899        1,574
Pulp and paper machinery                  3,438        3,381           57
Metalworking machine tools                7,411        6,815          596
Medicinal equipment                       6,485        5,657          828
Railway transpor. equipment               1,674        1,000          674
Generators, accessories                   7,012        6,696          316
Measuring, testing, control instru        6,161        5,505          656
Computers                                 6,527        6,621          -94
Photo, service industry                   5,992        5,537          455
Food, tobacco machinery                   1,082        1,086           -3
Wood, glass, plastic                      3,990        3,861          129
Parts-civilian aircraft                   4,385        3,686          699
Industrial machines, other               11,983       11,491          492
Textile, sewing machines                  2,007        1,756          250
Excavating machinery                      4,563        3,570          993
Marine engines, parts                       602          547           55
Materials handling equipment              4,424        3,491          932
Specialized mining                          284          571         -288
Nonfarm tractors and parts                  659          578           80
Laboratory testing instruments            1,337        1,029          307
Electric apparatus                       17,252       16,295          957
Commercial vessels, other                    49           21           29
Spacecraft, exc. military                    10           49          -38
Vessels, except scrap                         3            1            1
Industrial engines                        6,032        5,359          672
Drilling & oilfield equipment             1,218          773          446
Business machines and equipment           6,241        6,078          163
Agricultural machinery, equipment         3,860        3,353          507
Semiconductors                           28,044       30,618       -2,574
Telecommunications equipment             15,000       12,906        2,094

Auto. vehicles, parts and engines       122,677      117,112        5,565

Consumer goods                          179,048      158,870       20,178

Toys/games/sporting goods                16,021       14,851        1,170
Other household goods                    13,360       11,789        1,572
Apparel, household goods - cotton        22,924       19,696        3,228
Jewelry                                   6,215        5,484          731
Pleasure boats and motors                 1,290        1,209           81
Writing and art supplies                  6,446        5,929          517
Stereo equipment, etc                     7,102        6,240          863
Furniture, household goods, etc.          7,980        6,752        1,229
Gem stones, other                         1,086        1,053           33
Household appliances                      5,403        4,884          519
Cookware, cutlery, tools                  2,890        2,616          274
Apparel, household goods - wool           2,773        2,474          299
Camping apparel and gear                  4,255        4,606         -351
Toiletries and cosmetics                  2,080        1,931          149
Nursery stock, etc.                         902          824           77
Books, printed matter                     2,275        2,101          174
Rugs                                        909          797          112
Musical instruments                       1,022          902          120
Photo equipment                           1,782        1,733           49
Records, tapes, and disks                   945          807          138
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.           4,361        4,175          185
Glassware, chinaware                      1,781        1,684           97
Numismatic coins                            287          231           56
Apparel,household goods-nontextile        4,579        4,301          277
Motorcycles and parts                     1,111          964          146
TV's, VCR's, etc                         10,912        8,789        2,123
Footwear                                  9,111        8,883          228
Gem diamonds                              7,133        6,160          972
Pharmaceutical prep                      14,034       10,641        3,392
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto      18,079       16,361        1,718

Other Goods                              29,105       24,354        4,751

(1)  Detailed data are presented on a Census basis.  The information needed 
to convert to a BOP basis is not available.
(2)  Refer to footnote(3) on exhibit 6 or page 9.

SOURCE: Report FT900 (CB-98-235), Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade
        Division, October 1998.  For more information, contact Haydn R. 
        Mearkle (301-457-2246) or Richard M. Preuss (301-457-2311), 
        Foreign Trade Division.