INFORMATION ON GOODS AND SERVICES
                                
GOODS

CENSUS BASIS

The Census basis goods data are compiled from the
documents collected by the U.S. Customs Border and
Protection and reflect the movement of goods between
foreign countries and the 50 states, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. Foreign Trade
Zones.  They include government and non-government
shipments of goods, and exclude shipments between the
United States and its territories and possessions, transactions
with U.S. military, diplomatic and consular installations
abroad, U.S. goods returned to the United States by its Armed
Forces, personal and household effects of travelers, and
in-transit shipments.  The General Imports value reflects the
total arrival of merchandise from foreign countries that
immediately enters consumption channels, warehouses, or
Foreign Trade Zones.

For imports, the value reported is the U.S. Customs Border
and Protection appraised value of merchandise;  generally, the
price paid for merchandise for export to the United States. 
Import duties, freight, insurance, and other charges incurred
in bringing merchandise to the United States are excluded.

Exports are valued at the f.a.s.- free alongside ship value of
merchandise at the U.S. port of export, based on the
transaction price including inland freight, insurance, and other
charges incurred in placing the merchandise alongside the
carrier at the U.S. port of exportation.
                                                                      
Monthly data include actual month's transactions as well as a
small number of transactions for previous months.  Each
month we revise the aggregate seasonally adjusted (current
and chain-weighted dollar) and unadjusted export, import and
trade balance figures, as well as the end-use totals for the
prior month.  SITC and country detail data are not revised
monthly.  The timing adjustment shown in Exhibit 14 is the
difference between monthly data as originally reported and as
recompiled. Quarterly revisions are made to the chain-
weighted dollar series. In the last month of each quarter, the
current and previous quarter are revised to incorporate the
Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly revisions and align
Census and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis' quarterly
data. Annual revisions for the months are made in June to
reflect corrections received subsequent to the monthly
revision. These revisions are reflected in totals, end-use, SITC
and country summary data. The monthly end-use, commodity,
and country and area data presented in this release are on a
Census basis.  This refers to Exhibits 6 - 18.
          
U.S./CANADA DATA EXCHANGE
AND SUBSTITUTION

The data for U.S. exports to Canada are derived from import
data compiled by Canada.  The use of Canada's import data to
produce U.S. export data requires several alignments in order
to compare the two series.

1.   Coverage -- Canadian imports are based on country of
     origin.  U.S. goods shipped from a third country are
     included.  U.S. exports exclude these foreign shipments.
     For November 2005,  these shipments totaled $101.4
     million.  U.S. export coverage also excludes certain
     Canadian postal shipments.  For November 2005, these
     shipments totaled $19.8 million. 
                                   
     U.S. import coverage includes shipments of railcars and
     locomotives from Canada.  Effective with January 2004
     statistics, Canada excludes these shipments from its goods
     exports to the United States, therefore creating coverage
     differences between the two countries for these goods.

2.   Valuation -- Canadian imports are valued at the point of
     origin in the United States.  However, U.S. exports are
     valued at the port of exit in the United States and include
     inland freight charges, making the U.S. export value
     slightly larger.  Canada requires inland freight to be
     reported. Inland freight charges for November 2005
     accounted for 2.0 percent of the value of  U.S. exports to
     Canada.

3.   Reexports -- U.S. exports include reexports of foreign
     goods.  Again,  the  aggregate U.S. export figure is slightly
     larger.  For November 2005,  reexports  to  Canada  were 
     $2,655 million.
                                   
4.   Exchange Rate -- Average monthly exchange rates are
     applied to convert the published data to U.S. currency. For
     November 2005, the average exchange rate was 1.1815
     Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar.
                                   
5.   Other -- There are other minor differences which are
     statistically insignificant, such as rounding error.

Canadian Estimates

Effective with January 2001 statistics, the current month data
for exports to Canada contain an estimate for late arrivals and
corrections.  The following month, this estimate is replaced,
in the press release tables only, with the actual value of late
receipts and corrections.  This estimate improves the current
month data for exports to Canada and treats late receipts for
exports to Canada in a manner more consistent with the
treatment of late receipts for exports to other countries.

Nonsampling errors
                                                                      
The goods data are a complete enumeration of documents
collected by the U.S. Customs Border and Protection and are
not subject to sampling errors; but they are subject to several
types of nonsampling errors.  Quality assurance procedures
are performed at every stage of collection, processing and
tabulation; however the data are still subject to several types
of nonsampling errors.  The most significant of these include
reporting errors, undocumented shipments, timeliness, data
capture errors, and errors in the estimation of low-valued
transactions.  

Reporting Errors: Reporting errors are mistakes or
omissions made by importers, exporters or their agents in
their import or export declarations.  Most errors involve
missing or invalid commodity classification codes and
missing or incorrect quantities or shipping weights.  They
have a negligible effect on import, export and balance of trade
statistics.  However, they can affect the detailed commodity
statistics.
                                   
Undocumented Shipments: Federal regulations require
importers, exporters or their agents to report all merchandise
shipments above established exemption levels.  The U.S.
Census Bureau has determined that not all required
documents are filed, particularly for exports.

Timeliness and Data Capture Errors: The U.S. Census
Bureau captures import and export information from
administrative documents and through various automated
collection programs.  Documents may be lost, and data may
be incorrectly keyed, coded or recorded.  Transactions may be
included in a subsequent month's statistics if received late.

Low-valued Transactions: The total values of transactions
valued as much as or below $2,500 for exports and $2,000
($250 for certain quota items) for imports are estimated for
each country, using factors based on the ratios of low-valued
shipments to individual country totals for past periods.

The U.S. Census Bureau recommends that data users
incorporate this information into their analyses, as
nonsampling errors could impact the conclusion drawn from
the results.  For a detailed discussion of errors affecting the 
goods data, see "U.S. Merchandise Trade Statistics: 
A Quality Profile" available on the INTERNET at
www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aip/index.html#infopapers or
from the Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

AREA GROUPINGS (See Exhibits 14 and 14A)

North America - Canada, Mexico

Europe - Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbijan,
Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands,
Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Gibralter, Greece,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Gozo,
Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia and
Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Svalbard, Jan Mayen
Island, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican
City.  

European Union  - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, 
Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
     
Euro Area - Austria,  Belgium, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland,  Italy, Luxembourg,  Netherlands, Portugal,
Spain.
 
Pacific Rim - Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan.
          
South/Central America -  Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda,
Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana,
Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and 
Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay,
Venezuela.
     
OPEC - Algeria,  Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,
Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates,
Venezuela.

Africa - Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, British Indian
Ocean Territories, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde,
Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo
(Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial
Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, French Southern and Antarctic
Lands, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory
Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi,
Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique,
Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, St. Helena, Sao
Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,
Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo,
Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe.  


Adjustments for Seasonal and Working-Day Variations

Goods are initially classified under the Harmonized System
(HS) which describes and measures the characteristics of
goods traded.  Combining trade into approximately 140
export and 140 import end-use categories makes it possible 
to examine goods according to their principal uses (See
Exhibits 7 and 8).  These categories are used as the basis for
computing the seasonal and working-day adjusted data. 
These adjusted data are then summed to the six end-use
aggregates for publication (Exhibit 6).  These data are
provided to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, from the
U.S. Census  Bureau, for use in the Balance of Payments and
the National Income and Product Accounts.

The seasonal adjustment procedure is based on a model that
estimates the monthly movements as percentages above or
below the general level of each end-use commodity series
(unlike other methods that redistribute the actual series values
over the calendar year).  Because of the extremely variable
movements of the data series for aircraft, users studying data
trends may wish to analyze aircraft separately from other
trade.  

Adjustments for Price Change

Data adjusted for seasonal variation on a chained-dollar basis
(2000 base year) are presented in Exhibits 10 and 11.  This
adjustment for price change is done using the Fisher chain-
weighted methodology.  The deflators are primarily based
upon the monthly price indexes published by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics using techniques developed for the National
Income and Product Accounts by the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis.

SITC Data

Goods data appearing in Exhibit 15 are classified in terms of
the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)
Revision 3.  Agricultural goods consist of non-marine food
products and other products of agriculture which have not 
passed through complex processes of manufacture, such as
raw hides and skins, fats and oils, and wine. A few goods
such as essential oils, starches, casein, and albumin,
considered to be agricultural by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, have been excluded from agricultural goods and
are included in manufactured goods where they are classified
in the SITC.

Manufactured goods conform to the SITC sections that
include chemicals and related products; manufactured goods
classified chiefly by material; machinery and transport
equipment; miscellaneous manufactured articles; and goods
and transactions not classified elsewhere.

Reexports are foreign merchandise entering the country as
imports, and  at the time of exportation are in substantially the
same condition as when imported.  Reexports, included in
overall export totals, appear as separate line items in Exhibit
15.

Advanced Technology Products (ATP)

About 500 of some 22,000 commodity classification codes
used in reporting U.S. merchandise trade are identified as
"advanced technology" codes and they meet the following
criteria:

1.   The code contains products whose technology is from a
     recognized high technology field (e.g., biotechnology).

2.   These products represent leading edge technology in that
     field.

3.   Such products constitute a significant part of all items
     covered in the selected classification code.

The aggregation of the goods results in a measure of advanced
technology trade which appears in Exhibit 16.  This product
and commodity-based measure of advanced technology differs
from broader NAICS industry-based measures which include
all goods produced by a particular industry group, regardless
of the level of technology embodied in the goods.
     
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS (BOP) BASIS 

Goods on a Census basis are adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis to goods on a BOP basis to bring the data
in line with the concepts and definitions used to prepare the
international and national accounts.  Broadly, the adjustments
include changes in ownership that occur without goods passing
into or out of the customs territory of the United States.  These
adjustments are necessary to supplement coverage of the
Census basis data, to eliminate duplication of transactions
recorded elsewhere in the international accounts, and to value
transactions according to a standard definition.
  
The export adjustments include:

     U.S. military sales contracts - This deduction of U.S.
     military sales contracts is made because the U.S. Census
     Bureau has included these contracts in the goods data, but
     BEA includes them in the service category "Transfers Under
     U.S. Military Sales Contracts."  BEA's source material for
     these contracts is more comprehensive, but has no distinction
     between goods and services.

     Private gift parcels - This addition is made for parcels
     mailed to foreigners by individuals through the U.S. Postal
     Service.  (Only commercial shipments are covered in Census
     goods exports.)

     Gold exports, nonmonetary - This addition is made for gold
     that is purchased by foreign official agencies from private 
     dealers in the United States and held at the Federal Reserve
     Bank of New York.  The Census data only include gold that
     leaves the customs territory.      
     
Some smaller adjustments are also made to exports:
     Deductions for repairs of goods, developed motion picture
     film, and military grant-aid.  Additions for sales of fish in
     U.S. territorial waters, exports of electricity to Mexico, and
     vessels and oil rigs that change ownership for which no
     export document is filed.

The import adjustments include:

     Inland freight in Canada - An addition is made for inland
     freight in Canada.  Imports of goods from all countries are
     valued at the foreign port of export, including inland freight
     charges ("customs value").  In the case of Canada, this
     should be the cost of the goods at the U.S. border. 
     However, the customs value for imports for certain 
     Canadian goods is the point of origin in Canada.  The BEA
     makes an addition for the inland freight charges of
     transporting these Canadian goods to the U.S. border to
     make the value comparable to the customs value as reported
     by all other countries.  Insurance and freight charges for
     transporting goods to the United States from all other
     countries to the U.S. border are included in services by the
     BEA.  (The same procedure is used for Mexico as an Other
     Adjustment, but is much smaller.)
               
     Gold imports, nonmonetary - This addition is made for
     gold sold by foreign official agencies to private purchasers
     out of stock held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New
     York.  The Census data only include gold that enters the
     customs territory.

     Imports by U.S. military agencies - This deduction of U.S.
     military sales contracts is made because the U.S. Census
     Bureau has included these contracts in the goods data, but
     BEA includes them in the service category "Direct Defense
     Expenditures."  BEA's source material is more
     comprehensive, but has no distinction between goods and
     services.  

     Some smaller adjustments are also made to imports:
     Deductions for repairs of goods and developed  motion
     picture film.  Additions for imported electricity from
     Mexico, conversion of vessels for commercial use, repairs
     to U.S. vessels abroad, and valuation of prepackaged
     software imports at market value.

SERVICES

The statistics are estimates of services transactions between
foreign countries and the 50 states, the District of Columbia, 

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories
and possessions.  Transactions with U.S. military, diplomatic,
and consular installations abroad are excluded because they
are considered to be part of the U.S. economy.

Services are shown in seven broad categories.  Types of
services for imports and exports are the same for six of the
seven categories.  For the seventh, exports is "Transfers Under
U.S. Military Sales Contracts" while for imports the category
is "Direct Defense Expenditures."  The following is a brief
description of the types of services included in each category:

     Travel - Purchases of services and goods by U.S. travelers
     abroad and by foreign visitors to the United States.  A
     traveler is defined as a person who stays for a period of less
     than 1 year in a country of which the person is not a
     resident.  Includes expenditures for food, lodging,
     recreation, gifts, and other items incidental to a foreign
     visit.

     Passenger Fares - Fares paid by residents of one country
     to residents of other countries.  Receipts consist of fares
     received by U.S. carriers from foreign residents for travel
     between the United States and foreign countries and
     between two foreign points.  Payments consist of fares paid
     by U.S. residents to foreign carriers for travel between the
     United States and foreign countries.

     Other Transportation - Charges for the transportation of
     goods by ocean, air, waterway, pipeline, and rail carriers to
     and from the United States.  Includes freight charges,
     operating expenses that transportation companies incur in
     foreign ports, and payments for vessel charter and aircraft 
     rentals with crew.

     Royalties and License Fees - Transactions with foreign
     residents involving intangible assets and proprietary rights,
     such as the use of patents, techniques, processes, formulas,
     designs, know-how, trademarks, copyrights, franchises, and
     manufacturing rights.  The term "royalties" generally refers
     to payments for the utilization of copyrights or trademarks,
     and the term "license fees" generally refers to payments for
     the use of patents or industrial processes.

       Other Private Services - Transactions with affiliated
     foreigners, for which no identification by type is available,
     and of transactions with unaffiliated foreigners.  (The term
     "affiliated" refers to a direct investment relationship, which
     exists when a U.S. person has ownership or control,
     directly or indirectly, of 10 percent or more of a foreign
     business enterprise's voting securities or the equivalent, or
     when a foreign person has a similar interest in a U.S.
     enterprise.)  

Transactions with unaffiliated foreigners consist of
education services; financial services (includes
commissions and other transactions fees associated with
the purchase and sale of securities and noninterest
income of banks, and excludes investment income);
insurance services; telecommunications services
(includes transmission services and value-added
services); and business, professional, and technical
services. Included in the last group are advertising
services; computer and data processing services;
database and other information services; research,
development, and testing services; management,
consulting, and public relations services; legal services;
construction, engineering, architectural, and mining
services; industrial engineering services; installation,
maintenance, and repair of equipment; and other
services, including medical services and film and tape
rentals.
     
       Transfers Under U.S. Military Sales Contracts
     (Exports only) - Exports of goods and services in
     which U.S. Government military agencies
     participate.  Includes both goods, such as equipment,
     and services, such as repair services and training,
     that cannot be separately identified.

       Direct Defense Expenditures (Imports only) -
     Expenditures incurred by U.S. military agencies
     abroad, including expenditures by U.S. personnel,
     payments of wages to foreign residents, construction
     expenditures, payments for foreign contractual
     services, and procurement of foreign goods. 
     Includes both goods and services that cannot be
     separately identified.

       U.S. Government Miscellaneous Services -
     Transactions of U.S. Government nonmilitary
     agencies with foreign residents.  Most of these
     transactions involve the provision of services to, or
     purchases of services from, foreigners; transfers of
     some goods are also included.
                                   
     Services estimates are based on quarterly, annual, and
     benchmark surveys and partial information generated
     from monthly reports.  Service transactions are
     estimated at market prices.  Estimates are seasonally
     adjusted when statistically significant seasonal patterns
     are present.  No country or area detail is available due to
     the lack of adequate source data upon which to base
     estimates.

The revision policy is as follows:    Each month, a
preliminary estimate for the current month and a revised
estimate for the immediately preceding month are
released.  After a revised month is released, no further
changes are made to that month until more complete
source data become available in March, June,
September,and December.  The releases in March, June, 
September, and December contain revised data for the previous 
six  months.  The release in March also contains revisions for
all months of the previous year in order to align the
seasonally adjusted monthly data with annual totals.  The
release in June contains annual revisions, which
reflect updated source data and changes in estimating
methodologies.  Quarterly and annual estimates of services
are included as part of the U.S. international transactions 
accounts, published in the April, July, October, and January 
issues of the Survey of Current Business.  The next release of
the U.S. international transactions  accounts is scheduled
for March 14, 2006. The Survey is available from the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY

The FT-900 and supplement are available on the
following:

INTERNET  The U.S. International Trade in Goods and
Services reports are available at:  www.census.gov/ft900
or www.bea.gov/bea/di/home/trade.htm.

STAT-USA  The U.S. Department of Commerce's
electronic  information facility. Call 1 800 STAT-USA
for product information. 

Additional data and information on goods are obtainable
from: Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau, 
Washington, D.C.  20233

Additional data and information on services are
obtainable from:   Balance of Payments Division, U.S.
Bureau of Economic Analysis,  Washington, D.C. 
20230

RELEASE  SCHEDULE

            DATE         Day   

Nov. . . . .01-12-06     Thursday
Dec. . . . .02-10-06     Friday

Jan. . . . .03-09-06     Thursday
Feb. . . . .04-12-06     Wednesday
Mar. . . . .05-12-06     Friday
Apr. . . . .06-09-06     Friday
May. . . . .07-12-06     Wednesday
Jun. . . . .08-10-06     Thursday

Jul. . . . .09-12-06     Tuesday
Aug. . . . .10-12-06     Thursday
Sep. . . . .11-09-06     Thursday
Oct. . . . .12-12-06     Tuesday
Nov. . . . .01-10-07     Wednesday
Dec. . . . .02-13-07     Tuesday

SOURCE: Report FT900 (CB-06-03, BEA-06-01), Bureau of the Census, Foreign 
Trade Division, November 2005.  For more information, contact Nick Orsini 
(301-763-6959) or Vanessa Ware (301-763-2311), Foreign Trade Division. 