
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)                November    October (R)    Monthly
                                       1998          1998       Change

Total, Balance of Payments Basis         78,718       78,506          212
Net Adjustments                             508          556          -47
Total, Census Basis                      78,210       77,950          260

Foods, feeds, and beverages               3,348        3,342            6

Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                   238          185           52
Fruits, frozen juices                       351          331           20
Fish and shellfish                          626          617            9
Meat products                               388          382            6
Nuts                                         51           48            3
Other foods                                 211          211          (-)
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                  40           43           -2
Tea, spices, etc.                            72           75           -3
Vegetables                                  304          307           -3
Wine and related products                   307          310           -3
Green coffee                                185          190           -5
Cocoa beans                                  23           29           -6
Food oils, oilseeds                         121          129           -8
Cane and beet sugar                          38           47           -9
Bakery products                             204          214          -11
Feedstuff and foodgrains                    118          133          -15
Dairy products and eggs                      72           91          -19

Industrial supplies and materials        16,335       16,853         -519

Crude oil                                 2,971        3,135         -164
Petroleum products, other                   433          512          -79
Fuel oil                                    437          510          -73
Nuclear fuel materials                       87          147          -60
Chemicals-organic                           888          934          -47
Steelmaking materials                       189          233          -45
Electric energy                              58          101          -44
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.             323          366          -42
Chemicals-inorganic                         321          362          -40
Tobacco, waxes, etc                         258          293          -35
Liquified petroleum gases                   183          215          -31
Nonmonetary gold                            273          296          -23
Coal and related fuels                       53           71          -18
Iron and steel mill products              1,161        1,177          -16
Natural rubber                               62           77          -15
Pulpwood and woodpulp                       180          195          -15
Plywood and veneers                          87           95           -8
Gas-natural                                 476          483           -7
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                     48           53           -5
Synthetic rubber--primary                   101          107           -5
Finished textile supplies                   140          145           -5
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                   217          221           -5
Nontextile floor tiles                      130          133           -4
Plastic materials                           477          480           -3
Cotton, natural fibers                       14           17           -3
Blank tapes, audio & visual                 176          179           -3
Nickel                                       63           65           -2
Nonferrous metals, other                    142          144           -1
Leather and furs                             79           79          (-)
Hides and skins                              12           11            1
Iron and steel, advanced                    324          323            1
Finished metal shapes                       462          460            1
Hair, waste materials                        33           31            2
Newsprint                                   310          307            2
Farming materials, livestock                 69           64            5
Synthetic cloth                             338          333            5
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                 37           32            5
Tin                                          22           16            7
Wool, silk, etc.                             72           65            7
Industrial supplies, other                  928          920            7
Materials, exc. chemicals                   132          124            8
Cotton cloth, fabrics                       187          179            8
Other precious metals                       331          320           12
Shingles, wallboard                         460          444           16
Paper and paper products                    412          397           16
Chemicals-fertilizers                       266          250           16
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                     429          413           17
Zinc                                        112           94           18
Bauxite and aluminum                        529          501           28
Lumber                                      600          567           34
Copper                                      244          179           65

Capital goods, except automotive         23,394       22,952          442

Semiconductors                            2,778        2,545          233
Computer accessories                      5,713        5,514          200
Telecommunications equipment              1,565        1,376          190
Materials handling equipment                506          450           56
Business machines and equipment             614          559           56
Wood, glass, plastic                        460          409           51
Computers                                   743          694           49
Medicinal equipment                         743          716           28
Industrial machines, other                1,207        1,181           26
Parts-civilian aircraft                     499          476           24
Laboratory testing instruments              165          150           16
Photo, service industry                     628          617           11
Food, tobacco machinery                     131          120           11
Specialized mining                           33           25            8
Measuring, testing, control instru          616          610            6
Electric apparatus                        1,719        1,716            3
Industrial engines                          639          638            1
Nonfarm tractors and parts                   74           73          (-)
Vessels, except scrap                       (-)          (-)          (-)
Spacecraft, exc. military                   (-)            1           -1
Commercial vessels, other                     2            3           -1
Railway transpor. equipment                 183          188           -5
Textile, sewing machines                    181          191          -10
Marine engines, parts                        52           67          -15
Pulp and paper machinery                    380          401          -21
Agricultural machinery, equipment           324          345          -21
Excavating machinery                        429          467          -38
Drilling & oilfield equipment                79          117          -38
Generators, accessories                     703          764          -61
Metalworking machine tools                  745          824          -79
Engines-civilian aircraft                   853          948          -94
Civilian aircraft                           627          769         -142

Auto. vehicles, parts and engines        13,640       13,365          275

Consumer goods                           18,275       18,190           85

Gem diamonds                                711          612           99
Writing and art supplies                    660          608           52
Furniture, household goods, etc.            870          819           51
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto       1,742        1,706           35
Apparel, household goods - cotton         2,397        2,377           20
Motorcycles and parts                       117          101           17
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.             465          449           16
Musical instruments                         112           97           15
Camping apparel and gear                    405          393           12
Cookware, cutlery, tools                    316          304           12
Books, printed matter                       235          225           10
Pharmaceutical prep                       1,534        1,524           10
Toiletries and cosmetics                    222          213            9
TV's, VCR's, etc                          1,133        1,129            4
Records, tapes, and disks                   102           98            4
Footwear                                    897          894            3
Rugs                                         99           97            1
Nursery stock, etc.                          88           88          (-)
Household appliances                        546          547           -1
Apparel,household goods-nontextile          439          444           -5
Gem stones, other                           104          112           -7
Photo equipment                             164          172           -8
Glassware, chinaware                        171          182          -11
Numismatic coins                             24           38          -14
Jewelry                                     621          648          -28
Other household goods                     1,423        1,452          -28
Apparel, household goods - wool             240          272          -32
Toys/games/sporting goods                 1,685        1,718          -33
Stereo equipment, etc                       637          680          -43
Pleasure boats and motors                   114          190          -75

Other Goods                               3,219        3,248          -29
__________________________________________________________________________             

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


Total, Balance of Payments Basis        841,912      801,981       39,931
Net Adjustments                           4,939        6,186       -1,247
Total, Census Basis                     836,973      795,795       41,178

Foods, feeds, and beverages              37,684       36,201        1,484

Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                 2,095        2,002           93
Fruits, frozen juices                     3,697        3,702           -6
Fish and shellfish                        7,431        7,018          414
Meat products                             3,967        3,817          150
Nuts                                        601          583           18
Other foods                               2,248        2,040          208
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                 467          478          -11
Tea, spices, etc.                           688          601           87
Vegetables                                3,214        2,669          545
Wine and related products                 3,315        2,968          347
Green coffee                              2,820        3,260         -440
Cocoa beans                                 591          393          197
Food oils, oilseeds                       1,393        1,497         -104
Cane and beet sugar                         707          928         -221
Bakery products                           2,214        1,942          272
Feedstuff and foodgrains                  1,437        1,651         -215
Dairy products and eggs                     800          652          147

Industrial supplies and materials       185,309      196,569      -11,260

Crude oil                                35,192       50,395      -15,203
Petroleum products, other                 5,657        7,244       -1,587
Fuel oil                                  4,484        5,299         -815
Nuclear fuel materials                    1,239        1,129          110
Chemicals-organic                         9,911       10,214         -303
Steelmaking materials                     3,106        2,727          379
Electric energy                             956          907           49
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.           3,777        3,244          533
Chemicals-inorganic                       3,815        3,804           11
Tobacco, waxes, etc                       3,504        3,672         -168
Liquified petroleum gases                 2,579        3,766       -1,187
Nonmonetary gold                          3,325        2,825          499
Coal and related fuels                      705          626           79
Iron and steel mill products             12,212       10,047        2,164
Natural rubber                              899        1,148         -249
Pulpwood and woodpulp                     2,269        2,425         -156
Plywood and veneers                       1,047        1,042            5
Gas-natural                               5,067        5,115          -48
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                    506          464           41
Synthetic rubber--primary                 1,169        1,095           74
Finished textile supplies                 1,556        1,482           74
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                 2,305        1,904          402
Nontextile floor tiles                    1,455        1,275          180
Plastic materials                         5,382        5,169          212
Cotton, natural fibers                      166          198          -31
Blank tapes, audio & visual               1,874        1,893          -19
Nickel                                      810        1,060         -250
Nonferrous metals, other                  1,604        1,704          -99
Leather and furs                            956          937           19
Hides and skins                             157          189          -32
Iron and steel, advanced                  3,601        3,395          206
Finished metal shapes                     4,956        4,588          368
Hair, waste materials                       316          298           17
Newsprint                                 3,413        3,262          151
Farming materials, livestock                697          545          152
Synthetic cloth                           3,887        3,821           66
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                441          496          -55
Tin                                         236          239           -3
Wool, silk, etc.                            784          808          -23
Industrial supplies, other               10,091        9,624          467
Materials, exc. chemicals                 1,421        1,399           22
Cotton cloth, fabrics                     2,020        1,892          128
Other precious metals                     3,557        2,287        1,270
Shingles, wallboard                       4,734        3,815          919
Paper and paper products                  4,599        4,040          558
Chemicals-fertilizers                     3,105        2,885          220
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                   4,626        4,636          -10
Zinc                                        985        1,200         -215
Bauxite and aluminum                      5,759        5,227          532
Lumber                                    6,304        6,872         -569
Copper                                    2,094        2,243         -149

Capital goods, except automotive        247,930      231,737       16,193

Semiconductors                           30,818       33,734       -2,915
Computer accessories                     59,182       57,083        2,099
Telecommunications equipment             16,565       14,257        2,309
Materials handling equipment              4,930        3,902        1,029
Business machines and equipment           6,856        6,705          151
Wood, glass, plastic                      4,449        4,252          198
Computers                                 7,269        7,198           71
Medicinal equipment                       7,231        6,247          983
Industrial machines, other               13,185       12,683          501
Parts-civilian aircraft                   4,884        4,076          809
Laboratory testing instruments            1,500        1,156          344
Photo, service industry                   6,625        6,116          510
Food, tobacco machinery                   1,213        1,197           16
Specialized mining                          317          588         -271
Measuring, testing, control instru        6,778        6,106          672
Electric apparatus                       18,960       18,068          891
Industrial engines                        6,672        5,956          716
Nonfarm tractors and parts                  732          643           89
Vessels, except scrap                         3            2            1
Spacecraft, exc. military                    11           49          -38
Commercial vessels, other                    52           22           30
Railway transpor. equipment               1,859        1,121          738
Textile, sewing machines                  2,188        1,930          259
Marine engines, parts                       653          595           58
Pulp and paper machinery                  3,818        3,721           97
Agricultural machinery, equipment         4,183        3,706          477
Excavating machinery                      4,987        3,970        1,017
Drilling & oilfield equipment             1,295          865          430
Generators, accessories                   7,725        7,376          349
Metalworking machine tools                8,148        7,529          619
Engines-civilian aircraft                 8,553        6,892        1,661
Civilian aircraft                         6,287        3,992        2,295

Auto. vehicles, parts and engines       136,373      128,850        7,523

Consumer goods                          197,351      175,649       21,702

Gem diamonds                              7,838        6,832        1,006
Writing and art supplies                  7,108        6,571          537
Furniture, household goods, etc.          8,852        7,490        1,362
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto      19,819       18,089        1,730
Apparel, household goods - cotton        25,321       21,775        3,546
Motorcycles and parts                     1,229        1,078          151
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.           4,840        4,513          327
Musical instruments                       1,135          998          137
Camping apparel and gear                  4,660        5,077         -417
Cookware, cutlery, tools                  3,223        2,886          338
Books, printed matter                     2,511        2,318          193
Pharmaceutical prep                      15,565       11,956        3,609
Toiletries and cosmetics                  2,304        2,132          171
TV's, VCR's, etc                         12,044        9,670        2,375
Records, tapes, and disks                 1,046          891          155
Footwear                                 10,007        9,740          267
Rugs                                      1,008          881          127
Nursery stock, etc.                         989          914           75
Household appliances                      5,951        5,393          559
Apparel,household goods-nontextile        5,017        4,735          282
Gem stones, other                         1,189        1,165           24
Photo equipment                           1,946        1,906           40
Glassware, chinaware                      1,952        1,847          106
Numismatic coins                            310          266           45
Jewelry                                   6,844        6,047          797
Other household goods                    14,783       13,037        1,746
Apparel, household goods - wool           3,011        2,736          275
Toys/games/sporting goods                17,696       16,488        1,208
Stereo equipment, etc                     7,744        6,917          827
Pleasure boats and motors                 1,407        1,303          104

Other Goods                              32,326       26,789        5,537

(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-99-14), Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade
        Division, November 1998.  For more information, contact Haydn R. 
        Mearkle (301-457-2246) or Richard M. Preuss (301-457-2311), 
        Foreign Trade Division.