INFORMATION ON GOODS AND SERVICES
 


GOODS (CENSUS BASIS)

Data for goods on a Census basis 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 merchandisegenerally, 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 PROCEDURE (CENSUS BASIS)

Monthly Revisions: 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 real chained-
dollar) and unadjusted export, import, and trade balance figures, 
as well as the end-use totals for the prior month. Country detail 
data and commodity detail data, based on the Standard 
International Trade Classification (SITC) Revision 4 and the 
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), 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 to Chain-Weighted Dollar Series: For 
March, June, September, and December statistical month 
releases, revisions are made to the real chained-dollar series 
presented in Exhibits 10 and 11: the previous five months are 
revised to incorporate the Bureau of Labor Statistics revisions 
to price indexes, which are used to produce the real chained-
dollar series and to align Census data with data published by the 
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the National 
Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs).

Annual Revisions: Each June, not seasonally adjusted goods 
data are revised to redistribute monthly data that arrived too late 
for inclusion in the month of transaction. In addition, revisions 
are made to reflect corrections received subsequent to the 
monthly revisions. Seasonally adjusted data are also revised to 
reflect recalculated seasonal and trading-day adjustments. These 
revisions are reflected in totals, end-use, commodity, and 
country summary data.

Other Revisions: For December and January statistical month 
releases, each prior month of the most recent full year is revised 
so that the totals of the seasonally adjusted months equal the 
annual totals.
 
U.S./CANADA DATA EXCHANGE AND SUBSTITUTION

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 September 2014, these shipments totaled $166.1 
million.  U.S. export coverage also excludes U.S. postal 
shipments to Canada. For September 2014, these shipments 
totaled $17.8 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 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 
September 2014 accounted for 2.1 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 
September 2014, re-exports to Canada were $4,293.3 
million.

4.	Exchange Rate - Average monthly exchange rates are 
applied to convert the published data to U.S. currency. For 
September 2014, the average exchange rate was 1.1011 
Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar.

5.	Other - There are other minor differences, such as rounding 
error, that are statistically insignificant.
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 news release exhibits 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 that is 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 at 
www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aip/quality_profile1002014.pdf 
or from the Economic Indicators Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

AREA GROUPINGS 

North America: Canada, Mexico.

Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free 
Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR): Costa Rica, Dominican 
Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua.

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, Croatia, 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, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, 
Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain.
Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs): Hong Kong, Korea 
(South), Singapore, Taiwan.

Pacific Rim: Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, 
Japan, Korea (South), 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, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, 
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 TRADING-DAY VARIATIONS

Goods are initially classified under the Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System (Harmonized System), which is 
an internationally accepted standard for the commodity 
classification of traded goods. The Harmonized System 
describes and measures the characteristics of the goods and is 
the basis for the systems used in the United States: Schedule B 
for exports and Harmonized Tariff Schedule for imports. 
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 
trading-day adjusted data. These adjusted data are then summed 
to the six end-use aggregates for publication (see Exhibit 6). 
These data are provided to BEA, from the U.S. Census Bureau, 
for use in the NIPAs and in the U.S International Transactions 
Accounts (balance of payments accounts).

Exhibit 19 shows goods (Census Basis) that are seasonally 
adjusted for selected countries and world areas. Unlike the 
commodity-based adjustments discussed above, these 
adjustments are developed and applied directly at the country 
and world area levels. For total exports and imports, data users 
should refer to the commodity-based totals shown in the other 
exhibits. The seasonally adjusted country and world area data 
will not sum to the seasonally adjusted commodity-based totals 
because the seasonally adjusted country and world area data and 
the commodity-based totals are derived from different 
aggregations of the export and import data and from different 
seasonal adjustment models. Data users should use caution 
drawing comparisons between the two sets of seasonally 
adjusted series.

The seasonal adjustment procedure (X13-ARIMA-SEATS) is 
based on a model that estimates the monthly movements as 
percentages above or below the general level of series (unlike 
other methods that redistribute the actual series values over the 
calendar year). Because the data series for aircraft is highly 
variable, 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 
(2009 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 on the 
monthly price indexes published by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics using techniques developed for the NIPAs by BEA.

PRINCIPAL COMMODITIES

Goods data appearing in Exhibit 15 are classified in terms of the 
SITC Revision 4, with the exception of agricultural and 
manufactured goods. Agricultural goods are defined by the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA); they consist of non-marine 
food products and other products of agriculture that have not 
passed through complex processes of manufacture. 
Manufactured goods conform to the NAICS; they consist of 
goods that have been mechanically, physically, or chemically 
transformed. USDA agricultural goods and NAICS 
manufactured goods are not mutually exclusive categories.
Reexports are foreign merchandise entering the country as 
imports and then exported 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

About 500 of some 22,000 Schedule B and Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule 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 that appears in Exhibits 16 and 16a. This 
product- and commodity-based measure of advanced technology 
differs from broader NAICS-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) AND SERVICES

Quarterly and annual statistics for goods on a balance of 
payments (BOP) basis and for services are included in the U.S. 
International Transactions Accounts (ITAs), which are 
published by BEA 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 
ITAs is scheduled for December 17, 2014. The Survey of 
Current Business is available online at 
www.bea.gov/scb/index.htm.

GOODS (BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BASIS)

Goods on a Census basis are adjusted by BEA to a BOP 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 at market 
prices. 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 
ITA Table 2.4. U.S. International Trade in Goods, Balance of 
Payments Adjustments and in 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.

Net exports of goods under merchanting - This addition 
is made to include the net value of the purchase and 
subsequent resale of goods abroad without the goods 
entering the United States. Because these goods do not 
cross the U.S. customs frontier, their value is not recorded 
in the Census data.

    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, vessels 
and oil rigs for which ownership changes, valuation of 
software exports at market value, and low-value (below 
reporting threshold) transactions for 19992009 to phase in 
a revised Census Bureau low-value methodology that was 
implemented for goods on a Census basis beginning with 
statistics for 2010.

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 addition is made 
for purchases of goods abroad by U.S. military agencies, 
which are reported to BEA by the U.S. Department of 
Defense. The Census data only include imports of goods by 
U.S. military agencies that enter the U.S. customs territory.
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.

    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, valuation of software imports at 
market value, and low-value (below reporting threshold) 
transactions for 19992009 to phase in a revised Census 
Bureau low-value methodology that was implemented for 
goods on a Census basis beginning with statistics for 2010.

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. For categories for which 
monthly data are not available, monthly statistics are derived 
from quarterly statistics through temporal distribution, or 
interpolation. The interpolation methodology used by BEA is 
the modified Denton proportional first difference method. This 
method preserves the pattern of the monthly indicator series, if 
available, while satisfying the annual aggregation constraints. 
See An Empirical Review of Methods for Temporal 
Distribution and Interpolation in the National Accounts for 
more information. Services are seasonally adjusted when 
statistically significant seasonal patterns are present.
Services are shown in nine broad categories. The following is a 
brief description of the types of services included in each category:

Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. (not included 
elsewhere) - Consists of maintenance and repair services 
performed by residents of one country on goods that are 
owned by residents of another country. The repairs may be 
performed at the site of the repair facility or elsewhere. 
Excludes such services in which the cost is included in the 
price of the goods and is not billed separately or is declared 
as a part of the price of the goods on the import or export 
declaration filed with the U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection. Maintenance and repair of ships, aircraft, and 
other transport equipment are included under transport 
services, and maintenance and repair of computers are 
included under computer services.

Transport - Consists of transactions associated with 
moving people and freight from one location to another and 
includes related supporting and auxiliary services. 
Transport covers all modes of transportation, including air, 
sea, rail, road, space, and pipeline. Postal and courier 
services and  port services, which cover cargo handling, 
storage and warehousing, and other related transport 
services, are also included. 

Travel (for all purposes including education) - Includes 
goods and services acquired by nonresidents while abroad. 
A traveler is defined as a person who stays, or intends to 
stay, for less than one year in a country of which he or she 
is not a resident or as a nonresident whose purpose is to 
obtain education or medical treatment, no matter how long 
the stay. Purchases can be either for own use or for gifts to 
others. Travel is a transactor-based component that covers a 
variety of goods and services, primarily lodging, meals, 
transportation in the country of travel, amusement, 
entertainment, and gifts. Excludes air passenger services for 
travel between countries, which are included in transport, 
and goods for resale, which are included in goods.

Travel includes business and personal travel. Business 
travel covers goods and services acquired for use by 
persons whose primary purpose for travel is for business 
(including goods and services for which business travelers 
are reimbursed by employers). Business travel also includes 
expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term 
workers in their economy of employment. Personal travel 
covers travel for all non-business purposes, including for 
medical or educational purposes.

Insurance services - Includes the direct insurance services 
of providing life insurance and annuities, non-life (property 
and casualty) insurance, reinsurance, freight insurance, and 
auxiliary insurance services.  Insurance is measured as 
gross premiums earned plus premium supplements less 
claims payable, with an adjustment for claims volatility. 
Premium supplements represent investment income from 
insurance reserves, which are attributed to policyholders 
who are treated as paying the income back to the insurer. 
Auxiliary insurance services include agents commissions, 
brokerage services, insurance consulting services, actuarial 
services, and other insurance services.

Financial services - Includes financial intermediary and 
auxiliary services, except insurance services. These services 
include those normally provided by banks and other 
financial institutions. Services primarily include those for 
which an explicit commission or a fee is charged; implicit 
fees for bond transactions, measured as the difference 
between bid and ask prices, are also included. Services 
include securities brokerage and underwriting, financial 
management, financial advisory, and custody services; 
credit and other credit-related services; and securities 
lending, electronic funds transfer, and other services.
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. - 
Includes charges for the use of proprietary rights, such as 
patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and charges for 
licenses to use, reproduce, distribute, and sell or purchase 
intellectual property. 

Telecommunications, computer, and information 
services - Telecommunications services include the 
broadcast or transmission of sound, images, data, or other 
information by electronic means. These services do not 
include the value of the information transmitted. Computer 
services consist of hardware- and software-related services 
and data processing services. Sales of customized software 
and related use licenses, as well as licenses to use non-
customized software with a periodic license fee, are also 
included, as is software downloaded or otherwise 
electronically delivered. Cross-border transactions in non-
customized packaged software with a license for perpetual 
use are included in goods. Information services include 
news agency services, database services, and web search 
portals.

Other business services - Consists of research and 
development services, professional and management 
consulting services, and technical, trade-related, and other 
business services. Research and development services 
include services associated with basic and applied research 
and experimental development of new products and 
processes. Professional and management consulting 
services include legal services, accounting, management 
consulting, managerial services, public relations services, 
advertising, and market research. Amounts received by a 
parent company from its affiliates for general overhead 
expenses related to these services are included. Technical, 
trade-related, and other business services include 
architectural and engineering, construction, audio-visual, 
waste treatment, operational leasing, trade-related, and 
other business services. 

Government goods and services n.i.e. - Includes goods 
and services supplied by and to enclaves, such as 
embassies, military bases, and international organizations; 
goods and services acquired from the host economy by 
diplomats, consular staff, and military personnel located 
abroad and their dependents; and services supplied by and 
to governments that are not included in other services 
categories. Services supplied by and to governments are 
classified to specific services categories when source data 
permit.

GOODS (BOP BASIS) AND SERVICES BY COUNTRY AND AREA

Monthly country and area detail is not available for goods on a 
BOP basis or for services. However, quarterly statistics on 
goods on a BOP basis and on services that are seasonally 
adjusted by geography are shown in Exhibit 20. Unlike the 
seasonal adjustments by commodity and by service type that are 
applied to the global totals, these adjustments are developed and 
applied directly at the country and world area levels. For total 
exports and imports, data users should refer to the by-
commodity and by-service type totals shown in the other 
exhibits. The seasonally adjusted country and world area data 
will not sum to the seasonally adjusted by-commodity and by-
service type totals because the two sets of statistics are derived 
from different aggregations of the export and import data and 
from different seasonal adjustment models. Data users should 
use caution drawing comparisons between the two sets of 
seasonally adjusted series.

The definitions of the world areas shown in Exhibit 20 are 
consistent with the definitions for goods on a Census basis (see 
AREA GROUPINGS above) with a few exceptions. For services, 
CAFTA-DR is not available because trade with this areas 
member countries cannot be separately identified. For goods on 
a BOP basis and for services, European Union and OPEC reflect 
the composition of the areas as they were at the time of 
reporting.

REVISION PROCEDURE (GOODS ON A BOP BASIS AND SERVICES)

Monthly Revisions: 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.

Quarterly Revisions: The releases in March, June, September, 
and December contain revised estimates for the previous six 
months to incorporate more comprehensive and updated source 
data.

Annual Revisions: Each June, historical data are revised to 
incorporate newly available and revised source data, changes in 
definitions and classifications, and changes in estimation 
methods. Seasonally adjusted data are also revised to reflect 
recalculated seasonal and trading-day adjustments.

Other Revisions: The release in February contains revisions to 
goods for January through November of the most recent year 
and the release in March contains revisions to both goods and 
services for all months of the most recent year. These revisions 
result from forcing the seasonally adjusted months to equal the 
annual totals.

DATA AVAILABILITY

The U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services news 
release (FT-900) and the FT-900 Supplement are available at the 
following:

www.census.gov/ft900

www.bea.gov/newsreleases/international/trade/tradnewsrelease.
html


MONTHLY RELEASE SCHEDULE
Statistical Month	Date		Day
January			03-07-14	Friday
February		04-03-14	Thursday
March			05-06-14	Tuesday
April			06-04-14	Wednesday
May			07-03-14	Thursday
June			08-06-14	Wednesday
July			09-04-14	Thursday
August			10-03-14	Friday
September		11-04-14	Tuesday
October			12-05-14	Friday


















