U.S. Census Bureau News U.S. Department of Commerce • Washington, D.C. 20230 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8:30 A.M. EDT WEDNESDAY MAY 12, 2010 For information contact: (301) 763-3251 Emmanuel O. Omoruyi, Glenn A. Barresse or Kristen S. Corwin U.S. Goods Trade: Imports & Exports by Related-Parties 2009 The U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, announced today that in 2009 related-party trade accounted for over 40 percent ($1,048 billion) of total goods trade ($2,615 billion). Related-party trade accounted for nearly 48 percent ($740.5 billion) of consumption imports and just under 30 percent ($307.2 billion) of total exports (Figure 1). These percentages are slightly lower than historic U.S. figures. In 2009, U.S. related-party trade decreased by 22 percent ($301 billion) while total trade decreased by 23 percent ($786 billion) from 2008. Related-party trade includes trade by U.S. companies with their subsidiaries abroad as well as trade by U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies with their parent companies. Overview of U.S. Related-Party Trade 2009 Exhibit 1 shows a snapshot of U.S. related-party imports from selected world areas, and the top-ten countries sorted by related-party value. Exhibit 2 shows related-party exports from selected world areas and the top-ten countries also sorted by related-party value. Exhibits 3 and 4 provide import and export commodity information in terms of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), thereby providing a link to domestic production data. These exhibits show the top-ten three-digit NAICS codes, sorted by related-party values, for imports and exports. A listing of the countries contained in the selected world area groupings can be found in the “Technical Documentation Section” or at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/guide/sec5.html. As shown in Exhibits 3 and 4, the top-ten 3-digit NAICS codes (by value) accounted for about 76 percent of total imports and over 66 percent of total exports. Related-party trade for the top-ten 3-digit NAICS accounted for almost 43 percent of total consumption imports value and 21 percent of total exports value. Computer and electronic products (NAICS 334), transportation equipment (NAICS 336), and chemicals (NAICS 325) were the top three goods categories for both directions of trade. Users should note that trade data are product based and do not always correspond completely to the industry based NAICS categories. For more information on the NAICS code, please access the Guide to Foreign Trade Statistics at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/guide/sec2.html. Historical Trend The relative share of related-party trade has remained between 39.7 and 41.9 percent of total trade over the last ten years (Figure 2). Over the same time period the value of both related trade and total trade increased by 31.7 and 22.8 percent respectively. In dollar terms, from 2000 to 2009, related-party trade increased by $239 billion and total trade increased by almost $629 billion. Interactive Data Website for Related-Party Trade Detailed related-party trade data from 2002 through 2009 are available online for extraction and analysis at: http://sasweb.ssd.census.gov/relatedparty. The website provides output by year, country, and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes at the 2, 3, 4 or 6-digit level. The data can be totaled on related, nonrelated, and nonreported categories. The available file formats for generated output are web based (HTML), comma separated values (CSV), or Adobe (PDF). Aircraft Industry Trade Data Changes The U.S. Census Bureau began suppressing export data for certain 10-digit Schedule B commodity classifications related to the aircraft industry with the release of the January 2009 merchandise trade report as a result of analysis of the aircraft industry. These adjustments were not applied to 2008 related-party data during the annual revision process. Users may see fluctuations as a result of this suppression beginning with 2009 data. More information can be found on our website http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/notices/aircraft/index.html. To account for the suppression of commodity detail, the Census Bureau began publishing a new commodity classification series titled “Civilian Aircraft, Engines, and Parts” under Schedule B code 8800.00.0000. Visit our website for complete list of classification systems and codes affected at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/notices/aircraft/codes.html.