U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
NEWS
U.S. Department of Commerce * Washington, DC 20230


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8:30 A.M. EST TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012

For information on goods contact:

U.S. Census Bureau:

Matthew Przybocki
301-763-3148

Maria Iseman
301-763-2311

For information on services contact:

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:

Technical: Edward Dozier
202-606-9559

Media:Ralph Stewart
202-606-2649


CB12-232, BEA12-55, FT-900 (12-10)

U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES
October 2012


Goods and Services
    
    The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, 
announced today that total October exports of $180.5 billion 
and imports of $222.8 billion resulted in a goods and services 
deficit of $42.2 billion, up from $40.3 billion in September, 
revised.  October exports were $6.8 billion less than 
September exports of $187.3 billion.  October imports were 
$4.9 billion less than September imports of $227.6 billion.
    
    In October, the goods deficit increased $1.8 billion from 
September to $59.2 billion, and the services surplus decreased 
$0.1 billion from September to $16.9 billion.  Exports of 
goods decreased $6.5 billion to $127.5 billion, and imports of 
goods decreased $4.6 billion to $186.6 billion.  Exports of 
services decreased $0.3 billion to $53.0 billion, and imports of 
services decreased $0.2 billion to $36.1 billion.
    
    The goods and services deficit decreased $3.5 billion 
from October 2011 to October 2012.  Exports were up $1.8 
billion, or 1.0 percent, and imports were down $1.7 billion, or 
0.8 percent.
    
Goods (Census Basis)
    
    The September to October decrease in exports of goods 
reflected decreases in industrial supplies and materials ($2.9 
billion); capital goods ($1.9 billion); foods, feeds, and 
beverages ($1.4 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and 
engines ($0.4 billion); and consumer goods ($0.1 billion). An 
increase occurred in other goods ($0.2 billion).  
      
 
 

   The September to October decrease in imports of goods 
reflected decreases in consumer goods ($3.6 billion); 
automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($0.5 billion); foods, 
feeds, and beverages ($0.4 billion); capital goods ($0.4 
billion); and other goods ($0.3 billion).  An increase occurred 
in industrial supplies and materials ($0.4 billion).
   
   The October 2011 to October 2012 decrease in exports of 
goods reflected a decrease in industrial supplies and materials 
($3.4 billion).  Increases occurred in foods, feeds, and 
beverages ($1.1 billion); capital goods ($0.6 billion); 
consumer goods ($0.6 billion); other goods ($0.3 billion); and 
automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($0.2 billion). 
   
   
   
   
   The October 2011 to October 2012 decrease in imports of 
goods reflected decreases in consumer goods ($2.8 billion); 
industrial supplies and materials ($2.1 billion); and foods, 
feeds, and beverages ($0.6 billion).  Increases occurred in 
automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($2.2 billion); capital 
goods ($1.3 billion); and other goods ($0.6 billion). 
    
Services

    Exports of services decreased $0.3 billion from 
September to October.  The decrease was more than accounted 
for by decreases in travel ($0.3 billion) and passenger fares 
($0.2 billion). An increase in other private services ($0.2 
billion), which includes items such as business, professional, 
and technical services, insurance services, and financial 
services, was partly offsetting.  Changes in the other 
categories of services exports were small.
    
	Imports of services decreased $0.2 billion from September 
to October.  The decrease was more than accounted for by  
decreases in travel ($0.1 billion), passenger fares ($0.1 
billion), and other transportation ($0.1 billion), which 
includes freight and port services.  An increase in other 
private services ($0.1 billion) was partly offsetting.  Changes 
in the other categories of services imports were small.
				
	The October 2011 to October 2012 increase in exports of 
services was $2.2 billion.  The largest increases were in other 
private services ($1.5 billion) and travel ($0.7 billion).  Within 
other private services, the largest increase was in business, 
professional, and technical services.

	The October 2011 to October 2012 increase in imports of 
services was $0.1 billion.  The largest increases were in 
royalties and license fees ($0.2 billion), travel ($0.2 billion), 
and passenger fares ($0.1 billion).
    
Goods and Services Moving Average

    For the three months ending in October, exports of goods 
and services averaged $183.2 billion, while imports of goods 
and services averaged $224.9 billion, resulting in an average 
trade deficit of $41.7 billion.  For the three months ending in 
September, the average trade deficit was $41.5 billion, 
reflecting average exports of $184.2 billion and average 
imports of $225.7 billion.
 

Selected Not Seasonally Adjusted Goods Details
    
    The October figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, 
with Hong Kong $1.9 ($2.2 for September), Australia $1.8 
($1.9), Singapore $0.5 ($0.7), and Egypt $0.2 ($0.3).  Deficits 
were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China $29.5 ($29.1), 
European Union $10.6 ($8.6), OPEC $8.6 ($7.1), Japan $7.0 
($4.8), Germany $5.4 ($5.2), Mexico $4.4 ($4.8), Canada $1.9 
($1.9), Ireland $1.8 ($1.6), Nigeria $1.8 ($1.2), Venezuela 
$1.8 ($1.1), Korea $1.6 ($1.3), and Taiwan $1.4 ($1.3).  


   Advanced technology products exports were $26.1 billion 
in October and imports were $36.1 billion, resulting in a 
deficit of $10.1 billion.  October exports were $0.3 billion 
more than the $25.8 billion in September, while October 
imports were $3.2 billion more than the $32.9 billion in 
September.
    
Revisions 
       
Census Basis (not seasonally adjusted)
    
    For September, exports of goods were revised down $0.1 
billion and imports of goods were revised down $0.2 billion.  
Goods carry-over in October was virtually zero for exports 
and $0.8 billion (0.4 percent) for imports.  For September, 
revised export carry-over was $0.1 billion (0.1 percent) and 
revised import carry-over was $0.6 billion (0.3 percent).

Balance of Payments Basis (seasonally adjusted)
    
    For April 2012 through September 2012, exports and 
imports of goods and services were revised to incorporate 
more comprehensive and updated quarterly and monthly data. 
    
    For September, exports of goods were revised down $0.1 
billion and imports of goods were revised down $0.2 billion.   
Exports of services were revised up $0.4 billion, mostly 
reflecting upward revisions in travel and transfers under U.S. 
military sales contracts that were partly offset by a downward 
revision in royalties and license fees.  Imports of services were 
revised down $0.7 billion, mostly reflecting downward 
revisions in other private services and travel.     
          


NOTICE

Accelerated Release

Beginning with the January 2013 statistics scheduled for release on March 7, 2013, the U.S. International 
Trade in Goods and Services news release (FT-900) will be available an average of 35 calendar days 
after the end of the reference month.  This accelerates the release of the FT-900 by approximately one 
week.  The new schedule is located on page A-5 of this release.

Changes to Exhibit 15

Beginning with the January 2013 statistics scheduled for release on March 7, 2013, Exhibit 15 in the FT-900 
will be modified to incorporate changes in commodity groupings and definitions.  There will also be minor 
modifications to the general structure of the exhibit.

In order to reflect a more comprehensive and cohesive listing of commodities, Exhibit 15. Exports and Imports 
of Goods by Principal Commodities will see the following changes:

*	The Manufactured Goods total will be based on the North American Industry Classification System 
(NAICS).
*	The current selected commodities will be replaced with 1- and 2- digit Standard International Trade 
Classification (SITC) codes.

An example of the modified exhibit in Excel format is available at www.census.gov/foreign-
trade/statistics/notices/20121211_exh15.html.  With the December 2012 statistics scheduled for release on 
February 8, 2013, historical data from January 2010 to December 2012 will be made available at the same 
location.

Updated Revision Policy for Goods on a Census Basis

Beginning with the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: April 2013 and the accompanying U.S. 
International Trade in Goods and Services: Annual Revision for 2012 news releases scheduled for release on 
June 4, 2013, revised trade statistics will be made available for the not seasonally adjusted series for the prior 
three years.  Currently, the not seasonally adjusted data are only revised for the previous year, while seasonal 
factors and deflators are revised for three years.  With this update to the revision procedure, the U.S. Census 
Bureau will apply corrections and adjustments to the not seasonally adjusted data for the prior three years 
(2010-2012), consistent with the three years of revised seasonal factors and deflators.  This updated revision 
procedure will improve the overall quality of the published trade statistics, with the potential for substantial 
impact on specific commodity level and other detailed Census data products.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the Data Dissemination Branch of the 
U.S. Census Bureaus Foreign Trade Division on (800) 549-0595, option 4, or at 
ftd.data.dissemination@census.gov.



Table of Contents

Seasonally Adjusted

Exhibit 1
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1
Exhibit 2
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Three-month Moving Averages . . . . . . .

2
Exhibit 3
U.S. Services by Major Category  Exports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3
Exhibit 4
U.S. Services by Major Category  Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4
Exhibit 5
U.S. Trade in Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5
Exhibit 6
Exports and Imports of Goods by Principal End-Use Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6
Exhibit 7
Exports of Goods by End-Use Category and Commodity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7
Exhibit 8
Imports of Goods by End-Use Category and Commodity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9
Exhibit 9
Exports, Imports, and Balance of Goods, Petroleum and Non-Petroleum End-Use 
Category Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


11
Exhibit 10
Real Exports and Imports of Goods by Principal End-Use Category - Chained (2005) 
Dollars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


12
Exhibit 11
Real Exports, Imports, and Balance of Goods, Petroleum and Non-Petroleum End-Use 
Commodity Category Totals - Chained (2005) Dollars  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


13

Not Seasonally Adjusted

Exhibit 12
U.S. Trade in Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14
Exhibit 13
Exports and Imports of Goods by Principal End-Use Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15
Exhibit 14
Exports, Imports, and Balance of Goods by Selected Countries and Areas . . . . . . . . . . . .

16
Exhibit 15
Exports and Imports of Goods by Principal SITC Commodities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18
Exhibit 16
Exports, Imports, and Balance of Advanced Technology Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20
Exhibit 16a
Exports, Imports, and Balance of Advanced Technology Products by Technology
Group and Selected Countries and Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


21
Exhibit 17
Imports of Energy-Related Petroleum Products, Including Crude Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22
Exhibit 18
Exports and Imports of Motor Vehicles and Parts by Selected Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23
Information on Goods and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A1