INFORMATION ON GOODS AND SERVICES

 
GOODS (CENSUS BASIS)
The Census basis goods data are compiled from the documents collected by the U.S. Customs 
and Border 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 and Border 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.

Revision policy for goods on a Census basis:  Monthly data include actual month's 
transactions as well as a small number of transactions for previous months.  Each month the 
U.S. Census Bureau revises 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 to price indexes, which are 
used to produce the chained-dollar series and to align Census data with data published by 
the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis in the National Income and Product Accounts.  Annual 
revisions for the months are made in June to reflect corrections received subsequent to the 
monthly revisions.  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 
Exhibits 6-18 in this release are on a Census basis.

 
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 June 2010, 
these shipments totaled $100.2 million.  U.S. export coverage also excludes U.S. postal 
shipments to Canada.  For June 2010, these shipments totaled $20.3 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 than the Canadian import value.  
Canada requires inland freight to be reported separately from the value of the goods.  
Combining the inland freight and the Canadian reported import value provides a consistent 
valuation for all U.S. exports.  Inland freight charges for June 2010 accounted for 2.5 
percent of the value of U.S. exports to Canada.

3.	Reexports  Unlike Canadian imports, which are based on country of origin, U.S. 
exports include reexports of foreign goods.  Therefore, the aggregate U.S. export figure is 
slightly larger than the Canadian import figure.  For June 2010, reexports to Canada were 
$3,511.7 million.

4.	Exchange Rate - Average monthly exchange rates are applied to convert the published 
data to U.S. currency.  For June 2010, the average exchange rate was 1.0376 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 and Border 
Protection and are not subject to sampling 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 aggregate 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 months 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-Herzegovina, 
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, 
Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, 
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, 
Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, 
Slovenia, Spain, Svalbard-Jan Mayen Island, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, 
Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican City.

European Union - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, 
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, 
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Euro Area - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, 
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, 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, Angola, Ecuador, 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 (2005 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 Exhibits 16 and 16A.  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.

GOODS (BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BASIS)
Goods on a Census basis are adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to goods 
on a balance of payments basis to align the data with the concepts and definitions used to 
prepare the international and national economic accounts.  The adjustments, which are 
applied separately to exports and imports, 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 adjustments, 
which include both additions to and deductions from goods on a Census basis, are presented 
in this release as Net Adjustments.  BEA also publishes more detailed quarterly and annual 
statistics for Net Adjustments in a standard table of the U.S. international transactions 
accounts, Table 2. U.S. Trade in Goods (see the BEA Web site at http://www.bea.gov/international/bp_web 
or the January, April, July, and October issues of the Survey of Current Business).

The export adjustments include:
Exports under U.S. military sales contracts - Beginning with statistics for 1999, this 
adjustment reflects the net amount of two separate adjustments.  BEA first deducts goods 
identified in the Census data as exports under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.  
BEA then adds primary source data for these exports, which are reported to BEA by the U.S. 
Department of Defense.  For statistics prior to 1999, this adjustment reflects the deduction of 
goods exported under the FMS program because these exports are included, along with exports of 
services under the FMS program, in the services category "Transfers under U.S. military sales 
contracts."
 
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 U.S. customs territory.

Goods procured in U.S. ports by foreign carriers - Beginning with statistics for 1999, this 
addition is made for foreign air and ocean carriers fuel purchases in U.S. ports.  For statistics 
prior to 1999, these transactions are included in the services category Other transportation.

Low-value transactions - This addition to statistics for 2007-2009 is made to phase in a revised 
Census methodology for low-value goods.  The revised Census methodology was implemented for goods 
on a Census basis beginning with statistics for 2010.

Other adjustments to exports include:
Deductions for equipment repairs (parts and labor), private gift parcels, developed motion picture 
film, and military grant-aid.  Additions for sales of fish caught in U.S. territorial waters, 
exports of electricity to Mexico, and vessels and oil rigs for which ownership changes.

The import adjustments include:
Gold imports, nonmonetary - This addition is made for gold sold by foreign official agencies to 
private U.S. purchasers out of stock held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  The Census 
data only include gold that enters the U.S. customs territory.

Goods procured in foreign ports by U.S. carriers - Beginning with statistics for 1999, this 
addition is made for U.S. air and ocean carriers fuel purchases in foreign ports.  For statistics 
prior to 1999, these transactions are included in the services category Other transportation.
Imports by U.S. military agencies - Beginning with statistics for 1999, this adjustment reflects 
the net amount of two separate adjustments.  BEA first deducts goods (petroleum and non-petroleum) 
identified in the Census data as imports by U.S. military agencies.  BEA then adds primary source 
data for purchases of petroleum abroad by U.S. military agencies, which are reported to BEA by the 
U.S. Department of Defense.  Non-petroleum imports are included, along with imports of services by 
U.S. military agencies, in the services category "Direct defense expenditures."  For statistics 
prior to 1999, this adjustment reflects the deduction of goods imported by U.S. military agencies 
because these imports are included, along with imports of services by U.S. military agencies, in 
the services category "Direct defense expenditures." 

Inland freight in Canada and Mexico - This addition is made for inland freight in Canada and Mexico.  
Imports of goods from all countries should be valued at the customs valuethe value at the foreign 
port of export including inland freight charges.  For imports from Canada and Mexico, this should 
be the cost of the goods at the U.S. border.  However, the customs value for imports for certain 
Canadian and Mexican goods is the point of origin in Canada or Mexico.  BEA makes an addition for 
the inland freight charges of transporting these goods to the U.S. border to make the value 
comparable to the customs value reported for imports from other countries.

Low-value transactions - This addition to statistics for 2007-2009 is made to phase in a revised 
Census methodology for low-value goods.  The revised Census methodology was implemented for goods 
on a Census basis beginning with statistics for 2010.

Other adjustments made to imports include:

Deductions for equipment repairs (parts and labor), repairs to U.S. vessels abroad, and developed 
motion picture film.  Additions for non-reported imports of locomotives and railcars, imports of 
electricity from Mexico, conversion of vessels for commercial use, and valuation of software 
imports at market value.


SERVICES
The services statistics cover 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 these installations are considered to be part of the U.S. economy.

Services statistics are based on quarterly, annual, and benchmark surveys and information obtained 
from monthly government and industry reports.  Services are seasonally adjusted when statistically 
significant seasonal patterns are present.  No monthly country or area detail is available due to 
the lack of adequate source data.

Services are shown in seven broad categories.  The types of services for exports and imports are 
the same for six of the categories.  For the seventh, the export category is "Transfers under U.S. 
military sales contracts" and the import 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 transportation carriers 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 - Beginning with statistics for 1999, includes 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 
(excluding air and ocean carriers fuel purchases in foreign ports, which are included in exports 
and imports of goods), and payments for vessel charter and aircraft rentals with crew.  For 
statistics prior to 1999, also includes air and ocean carriers fuel purchases in foreign ports.

Royalties and license fees - Transactions that involve intangible assets and proprietary rights 
such as patents, techniques, processes, formulas, designs, know-how, trademarks, copyrights, 
franchises, and manufacturing rights.  The term "royalties" generally refers to payments for the 
use of copyrights or trademarks, and the term "license fees" generally refers to payments for the 
use of patents or industrial processes.  Includes transactions with both affiliated (related 
parties) and unaffiliated foreign residents.

Other private services - Transactions consist of education services; financial services (includes 
fees and commissions and excludes investment income); insurance services; telecommunications 
services (includes transmission services and value-added services); business, professional, and 
technical services (includes 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 services; architectural 
and engineering services; mining services; industrial engineering services; installation, 
maintenance, and repair of equipment; and medical services); and other services (includes film 
and tape rentals).  Includes transactions with both affiliated (related parties) and unaffiliated 
foreign residents.

Transfers under U.S. military sales contracts (Exports only) - Beginning with statistics for 
1999, includes exports of services, such as training services and repair services, provided by 
U.S. government military agencies through grants and the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) 
program; also includes exports of goods that are commingled in the source data and cannot be 
separately identified.  Excludes exports of goods under the FMS program, which are included in 
exports of goods.  For statistics prior to 1999, also includes exports of goods under the FMS 
program because they are commingled in the source data and cannot be separately identified.

Direct defense expenditures (Imports only) - Beginning with statistics for 1999, includes 
expenditures 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 (excluding petroleum purchases abroad, 
which are included in imports of goods).  For statistics prior to 1999, also includes petroleum 
purchases abroad by U.S. military agencies.

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.

Revision policy for goods on a balance of payments basis and for services: Each month, a 
preliminary estimate for the current month and a revised estimate for the immediately preceding 
month are released.  After the initial revision, no further revisions are made to a month until 
more complete source data become available in March, June, September, and December.  The 
releases in March, June, September, and December contain revised estimates 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, changes in definitions and 
classifications, and changes in estimating methodologies.


MONTHLY RELEASE SCHEDULE
Month	Date	Day
		
Jan	03-11-10	Thursday
Feb	04-13-10	Tuesday
Mar	05-12-10	Wednesday

Apr	06-10-10	Thursday
May	07-13-10	Tuesday
Jun	08-11-10	Wednesday
Jul	09-09-10	Thursday
Aug	10-14-10	Thursday
Sep	11-10-10	Wednesday
Oct	12-10-10	Friday


U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS ACCOUNTS
Quarterly and annual estimates of goods on a balance of payments basis and services are 
included in the U.S. international transactions accounts, which are published in news 
releases in March, June, September, and December and in the Survey of Current Business 
in the January, April, July, and October issues.  The next release of the international 
transactions accounts is scheduled for September 16, 2010.  The Survey is available online 
at www.bea.gov/scb/index.htm or 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/newsreleases/international/trade/tradnewsrelease.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 can be obtained from: Foreign Trade Division, 
U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, D.C.  20233

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