
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)                December   November (R)    Monthly
                                       1998          1998       Change



Total, Balance of Payments Basis         76,880       78,778       -1,899
Net Adjustments                             268          514         -246
Total, Census Basis                      76,612       78,265       -1,653

Foods, feeds, and beverages               3,558        3,369          189

Vegetables                                  302          303           -1
Fish and shellfish                          708          624           84
Wine and related products                   315          305            9
Bakery products                             196          205           -9
Other foods                                 216          210            6
Cocoa beans                                  68           23           45
Dairy products and eggs                      83           73           10
Meat products                               344          389          -45
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                   210          237          -27
Tea, spices, etc.                            61           72          -12
Fruits, frozen juices                       402          365           37
Nuts                                         63           51           12
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                  45           40            5
Food oils, oilseeds                         129          131           -2
Cane and beet sugar                          42           38            4
Feedstuff and foodgrains                    132          118           14
Green coffee                                242          185           58

Industrial supplies and materials        15,227       16,256       -1,029

Crude oil                                 2,421        2,926         -505
Petroleum products, other                   405          431          -26
Liquified petroleum gases                   185          180            5
Fuel oil                                    354          430          -76
Lumber                                      588          600          -12
Chemicals-organic                           841          889          -49
Nickel                                       46           63          -17
Natural rubber                               78           62           16
Zinc                                         77          112          -35
Tobacco, waxes, etc                         291          257           33
Pulpwood and woodpulp                       179          181           -1
Copper                                      154          237          -83
Gas-natural                                 356          474         -118
Nonferrous metals, other                    141          141          (-)
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                 28           36           -8
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                     403          429          -27
Hides and skins                              12           12           -1
Cotton, natural fibers                       20           14            6
Wool, silk, etc.                             67           72           -5
Blank tapes, audio & visual                 169          176           -7
Leather and furs                             77           79           -3
Materials, exc. chemicals                   128          132           -4
Chemicals-inorganic                         351          321           30
Tin                                          23           22            1
Plywood and veneers                          86           88           -2
Hair, waste materials                        32           33           -1
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                     41           48           -7
Electric energy                              72           59           13
Synthetic cloth                             335          340           -5
Coal and related fuels                       60           53            7
Synthetic rubber--primary                    88          101          -13
Finished textile supplies                   139          141           -3
Cotton cloth, fabrics                       172          188          -15
Chemicals-fertilizers                       255          262           -7
Farming materials, livestock                 58           69          -11
Nuclear fuel materials                      142           87           55
Newsprint                                   354          309           45
Nontextile floor tiles                      135          130            5
Plastic materials                           487          478            9
Iron and steel, advanced                    313          325          -12
Steelmaking materials                       180          184           -4
Bauxite and aluminum                        449          520          -71
Finished metal shapes                       464          462            2
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                   240          216           24
Industrial supplies, other                  937          927           10
Nonmonetary gold                            279          272            7
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.             343          318           25
Paper and paper products                    418          412            5
Shingles, wallboard                         475          460           15
Other precious metals                       360          333           27
Iron and steel mill products                920        1,164         -244

Capital goods, except automotive         22,448       23,411         -963

Telecommunications equipment              1,502        1,565          -63
Civilian aircraft                           571          625          -54
Computer accessories                      5,398        5,719         -321
Engines-civilian aircraft                   838          859          -21
Excavating machinery                        463          436           27
Materials handling equipment                465          528          -64
Medicinal equipment                         681          749          -68
Parts-civilian aircraft                     468          499          -31
Railway transpor. equipment                 203          181           22
Industrial engines                          682          640           42
Electric apparatus                        1,685        1,721          -37
Measuring, testing, control instru          573          617          -44
Metalworking machine tools                  672          737          -64
Industrial machines, other                1,219        1,210            9
Photo, service industry                     599          622          -23
Drilling & oilfield equipment                80           80           -1
Agricultural machinery, equipment           321          327           -6
Laboratory testing instruments              146          166          -20
Generators, accessories                     694          693            1
Wood, glass, plastic                        450          455           -4
Textile, sewing machines                    183          182            1
Nonfarm tractors and parts                   79           75            5
Pulp and paper machinery                    407          378           29
Computers                                   617          746         -129
Marine engines, parts                        55           52            3
Commercial vessels, other                    25            2           24
Business machines and equipment             540          614          -74
Food, tobacco machinery                     117          131          -13
Vessels, except scrap                         1                         1
Spacecraft, exc. military                     2                         2
Specialized mining                           22           33          -11
Semiconductors                            2,691        2,769          -78

Auto. vehicles, parts and engines        13,926       13,794          132

Consumer goods                           18,205       18,218          -12

Apparel, household goods - cotton         2,474        2,399           75
Pharmaceutical prep                       1,408        1,517         -109
TV's, VCR's, etc                          1,254        1,134          120
Other household goods                     1,345        1,429          -84
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto       1,760        1,744           15
Furniture, household goods, etc.            870          871          (-)
Toys/games/sporting goods                 1,556        1,685         -128
Gem diamonds                                689          719          -30
Jewelry                                     610          613           -3
Stereo equipment, etc                       578          631          -54
Household appliances                        562          546           16
Writing and art supplies                    639          657          -18
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.             528          444           84
Cookware, cutlery, tools                    300          296            3
Footwear                                    853          902          -49
Apparel, household goods - wool             286          240           45
Apparel,household goods-nontextile          441          438            2
Books, printed matter                       223          233          -10
Toiletries and cosmetics                    223          222            1
Motorcycles and parts                       147          117           29
Records, tapes, and disks                    90          102          -12
Rugs                                        105           99            7
Musical instruments                         106          112           -6
Glassware, chinaware                        175          172            3
Pleasure boats and motors                   150          106           43
Nursery stock, etc.                          91           88            3
Photo equipment                             182          167           15
Numismatic coins                             32           24            8
Gem stones, other                            96          104           -8
Camping apparel and gear                    434          406           28

Other Goods                               3,247        3,216           31
__________________________________________________________________________

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


Total, Balance of Payments Basis        919,040      877,279       41,761
Net Adjustments                           5,212        6,609       -1,397
Total, Census Basis                     913,828      870,671       43,158

Foods, feeds, and beverages              41,229       39,694        1,535

Vegetables                                3,499        2,937          563
Fish and shellfish                        8,117        7,702          415
Wine and related products                 3,627        3,253          373
Bakery products                           2,419        2,135          284
Other foods                               2,462        2,228          234
Cocoa beans                                 659          469          190
Dairy products and eggs                     893          711          182
Meat products                             4,315        4,162          153
Alcoholic bevs, exc. wine                 2,300        2,189          111
Tea, spices, etc.                           751          660           91
Fruits, frozen juices                     4,095        4,057           38
Nuts                                        665          638           27
Nonagricultural foods, etc.                 514          521           -8
Food oils, oilseeds                       1,534        1,641         -107
Cane and beet sugar                         749          994         -246
Feedstuff and foodgrains                  1,569        1,821         -252
Green coffee                              3,063        3,575         -513

Industrial supplies and materials       200,395      213,767      -13,372

Crude oil                                37,533       54,226      -16,693
Petroleum products, other                 6,050        7,733       -1,683
Liquified petroleum gases                 2,757        4,069       -1,312
Fuel oil                                  4,834        5,743         -909
Lumber                                    6,880        7,480         -599
Chemicals-organic                        10,778       11,085         -307
Nickel                                      857        1,160         -303
Natural rubber                              977        1,229         -253
Zinc                                      1,061        1,296         -234
Tobacco, waxes, etc                       3,793        3,986         -193
Pulpwood and woodpulp                     2,449        2,641         -192
Copper                                    2,242        2,393         -151
Gas-natural                               5,396        5,504         -108
Nonferrous metals, other                  1,745        1,851         -106
Sulfur, nonmetallic minerals                469          530          -61
Chemicals-other, n.e.c.                   5,028        5,089          -60
Hides and skins                             170          207          -37
Cotton, natural fibers                      186          221          -35
Wool, silk, etc.                            853          884          -31
Blank tapes, audio & visual               2,047        2,068          -21
Leather and furs                          1,034        1,035           -1
Materials, exc. chemicals                 1,546        1,542            4
Chemicals-inorganic                       4,168        4,162            6
Tin                                         260          254            6
Plywood and veneers                       1,134        1,127            6
Hair, waste materials                       348          325           23
Glass-plate, sheet, etc.                    548          506           42
Electric energy                           1,039          994           45
Synthetic cloth                           4,224        4,177           47
Coal and related fuels                      765          709           56
Synthetic rubber--primary                 1,257        1,185           72
Finished textile supplies                 1,697        1,619           78
Cotton cloth, fabrics                     2,194        2,068          126
Chemicals-fertilizers                     3,314        3,161          153
Farming materials, livestock                766          609          157
Nuclear fuel materials                    1,382        1,210          172
Newsprint                                 3,763        3,587          176
Nontextile floor tiles                    1,591        1,396          195
Plastic materials                         5,864        5,668          197
Iron and steel, advanced                  3,916        3,717          199
Steelmaking materials                     3,273        2,998          276
Bauxite and aluminum                      6,200        5,830          370
Finished metal shapes                     5,418        5,033          384
Stone, sand, cement, etc.                 2,544        2,098          446
Industrial supplies, other               11,022       10,537          485
Nonmonetary gold                          3,603        3,072          531
Iron and steel products, n.e.c.           4,112        3,560          553
Paper and paper products                  5,012        4,448          564
Shingles, wallboard                       5,209        4,215          994
Other precious metals                     3,930        2,643        1,286
Iron and steel mill products             13,157       10,889        2,268

Capital goods, except automotive        270,372      254,175       16,197

Telecommunications equipment             18,047       15,687        2,360
Civilian aircraft                         6,856        4,546        2,310
Computer accessories                     64,597       62,359        2,238
Engines-civilian aircraft                 9,403        7,591        1,812
Excavating machinery                      5,481        4,381        1,101
Materials handling equipment              5,421        4,325        1,096
Medicinal equipment                       7,934        6,864        1,071
Parts-civilian aircraft                   5,353        4,461          893
Railway transpor. equipment               2,059        1,251          809
Industrial engines                        7,342        6,541          801
Electric apparatus                       20,636       19,859          777
Measuring, testing, control instru        7,360        6,723          637
Metalworking machine tools                8,802        8,250          552
Industrial machines, other               14,411       13,913          498
Photo, service industry                   7,217        6,720          497
Drilling & oilfield equipment             1,377          952          425
Agricultural machinery, equipment         4,528        4,146          382
Laboratory testing instruments            1,649        1,288          361
Generators, accessories                   8,412        8,061          350
Wood, glass, plastic                      4,891        4,631          260
Textile, sewing machines                  2,371        2,123          248
Nonfarm tractors and parts                  814          705          109
Pulp and paper machinery                  4,214        4,106          108
Computers                                 7,912        7,817           94
Marine engines, parts                       708          654           54
Commercial vessels, other                    77           24           53
Business machines and equipment           7,385        7,350           35
Food, tobacco machinery                   1,333        1,302           31
Vessels, except scrap                         4            2            1
Spacecraft, exc. military                    13           51          -38
Specialized mining                          339          612         -273
Semiconductors                           33,426       36,880       -3,454

Auto. vehicles, parts and engines       150,715      140,779        9,937

Consumer goods                          215,530      192,918       22,612

Apparel, household goods - cotton        27,807       23,953        3,854
Pharmaceutical prep                      16,980       13,270        3,710
TV's, VCR's, etc                         13,361       10,546        2,815
Other household goods                    16,184       14,365        1,819
Apparel, textiles, nonwool or cotto      21,591       19,854        1,737
Furniture, household goods, etc.          9,732        8,269        1,462
Toys/games/sporting goods                19,252       18,102        1,150
Gem diamonds                              8,496        7,598          898
Jewelry                                   7,443        6,615          827
Stereo equipment, etc                     8,283        7,580          703
Household appliances                      6,507        5,908          599
Writing and art supplies                  7,739        7,230          508
Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.           5,334        4,936          398
Cookware, cutlery, tools                  3,504        3,176          328
Footwear                                 10,865       10,576          290
Apparel, household goods - wool           3,290        3,004          286
Apparel,household goods-nontextile        5,446        5,187          259
Books, printed matter                     2,732        2,535          197
Toiletries and cosmetics                  2,526        2,334          192
Motorcycles and parts                     1,380        1,191          188
Records, tapes, and disks                 1,136          982          154
Rugs                                      1,116          971          145
Musical instruments                       1,238        1,095          143
Glassware, chinaware                      2,137        2,017          120
Pleasure boats and motors                 1,513        1,408          106
Nursery stock, etc.                       1,079        1,003           77
Photo equipment                           2,131        2,081           50
Numismatic coins                            342          303           39
Gem stones, other                         1,285        1,278            6
Camping apparel and gear                  5,102        5,552         -449

Other Goods                              35,587       29,338        6,249

(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-99-31), Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade
        Division, December 1998.  For more information, contact Haydn R. 
        Mearkle (301-457-2246) or Richard M. Preuss (301-457-2311), 
        Foreign Trade Division.