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 quarters 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 
November 2011, these shipments totaled $222.7 million.  
U.S. export coverage also excludes U.S. postal shipments to 
Canada.  For November 2011, these shipments totaled 
$23.4 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 November 2011 
accounted for 2.4 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 November 
2011, reexports to Canada were $4,161.4 million.
4.	Exchange Rate - Average monthly exchange rates are 
applied to convert the published data to U.S. currency.  For 
November 2011, the average exchange rate was 1.0248 
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 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, Azerbaijan, 
Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and 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, Estonia, Finland, France, 
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, 
Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain.
Pacific Rim - Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, 
Japan, Korea, Macau, 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, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican 
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands (Islas 
Malvinas), French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, 
Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, 
Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Sint 
Maarten, 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 Faso, 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, South Sudan, 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, 
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 a balance of payments basis to 
align the data with the concepts and definitions used to prepare 
the international and national economic accounts.  These 
adjustments, which are applied separately to exports and 
imports, are necessary to supplement coverage of the Census 
data, to eliminate duplication of transactions recorded 
elsewhere in the international accounts, and to value 
transactions according to a standard definition.  They include 
both additions to and deductions from goods on a Census basis 
and are presented in this release as "Net Adjustments."  
Adjustments that exhibit significant seasonal patterns are 
seasonally adjusted.  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 - 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 program.  BEA then adds primary source data for 
these exports, which are reported to BEA by the U.S. 
Department of Defense.
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 - This 
addition is made for foreign air and ocean carriers' fuel 
purchases in U.S. ports.
Low-value transactions - This addition is made to phase in 
a revised Census Bureau methodology for low-value goods 
for statistics prior to 2010.  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), 
developed motion picture film, and military grant-aid.  
Additions for sales of fish caught in U.S. territorial waters, 
exports of electricity to Mexico, private gift parcels, 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 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 - This 
addition is made for U.S. air and ocean carriers' fuel 
purchases in foreign ports.
Imports by U.S. military agencies - 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.
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 
value-the 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 is made to phase in 
a revised Census Bureau methodology for low-value goods 
for statistics prior to 2010.  The revised Census 
methodology was implemented for goods on a Census 
basis beginning with statistics for 2010.
    
    Other adjustments 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 cruise fares and 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.  Excludes cruise fares, 
which are included in travel.
Other transportation - Transactions include freight charges 
for the transportation of goods to and from the United 
States, operating expenses that transportation companies 
incur in foreign ports, postal services, and payments for 
vessel charter and aircraft leases with crew.  Excludes air 
and ocean carriers' fuel purchases in foreign ports, which 
are included in exports and imports of goods on a balance 
of payments (BOP) basis.


Royalties and license fees - Transactions for the rights to 
use, the rights to reproduce or distribute, and the outright 
sale of intellectual property 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; the term "license fees" generally 
refers to payments for the use of patents or industrial 
processes.  Includes fees for the rights to distribute film and 
television recordings.  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 transactions with both affiliated (related parties) 
and unaffiliated foreign residents.
Transfers under U.S. military sales contracts (Exports 
only) - Transactions include 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.  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 
on a BOP basis.
Direct defense expenditures (Imports only) - Transactions 
include 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.  Excludes petroleum 
purchases abroad, which are included in imports of goods 
on a BOP basis.
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.  
Some goods transactions are also included.
MONTHLY RELEASE SCHEDULE
Month
Date
Day



Nov
01-13-12
Friday

Dec
02-10-12
Friday

Jan
03-09-12
Friday

Feb
04-12-12
Thursday

Mar
05-10-12
Thursday

Apr
06-08-12
Friday

May
07-11-12
Wednesday

Jun
08-09-12
Thursday

Jul
09-11-12
Tuesday

Aug
10-11-12
Thursday

Sep
11-08-12
Thursday

Oct
12-11-12
Tuesday






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 
also contains annual revisions, which reflect updated source 
data, changes in definitions and classifications, and changes in 
estimating methodologies.

U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS ACCOUNTS
Quarterly and annual estimates of goods on a balance of 
payments basis and of 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 March 14, 2012.  The 
Survey of Current Business 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.

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

