Statistics

Annual Statistics: A quick review of the Top 10 U.S. trade partners

February 24th, 2007

The Top 10 United States trade partners accounted for about two-thirds of the $2.9 trillion in U.S. trade in 2006, a percentage that has been relatively constant the last four years.

Each nation registered record total trade. A table showing total trade by country is at the bottom of the file.

A quick rundown of the Top 10 follows:

No. 1: Canada became the first nation to surpass one-half trillion dollars in trade with the United States, ending the year at $534 billion.

The two-way trade only surpassed $400 billion for the first time in 2004. Nevertheless, Canada underperformed, relative to the national average of 12 percent growth, climbing slightly more than 6 percent.

Exports grew more rapidly than imports, on a percentage basis, but the United States still has a large deficit with Canada of more than $73 billion, the third largest behind China and Japan.

The leading Customs district for Canada’s trade with the United States is overwhelmingly Detroit, with more than 40 percent, followed by two other border Customs districts, Buffalo and Ogdensburg, N.Y.

The leading imports and exports are all about cars and what makes them go with cars parts the leading export to Canada and cars the leading import. Crude oil is the third-leading import, after natural gas.

Motor vehicles for transporting people and motor vehicles for transporting goods are second- and third-ranked U.S. exports.

No. 2: China is the new No. 2 U.S. trade partner for 2006, having surpassed long-time No. 2 and North America Free Trade Partner, Mexico.

China’s trade surged almost $58 billion in 2006, outpacing Mexico’s still impressive $42 billion gain. It’s all about imports, of course. But China also buys a lot from the United States.

Only Canada, Mexico and Japan buy more, with China likely to surpass Japan in 2007. China stands a very good chance of becoming the United State’s No. 1 importer this year, as it closed the gap with top-ranked Canada to less than $16 billion in 2006, down from almost $40 billion the previous year.

The leading Customs districts for China’s trade with the United States are Los Angeles, with more than one-third of the total, followed by New York and Chicago.

Its leading imports into the United States are computers, cell phones, computer parts and shoes. The United States’ leading exports are aircraft, computer chips and soy beans.

No. 3: Mexico suffers a little like anyone trying to play golf in the era of Tiger Woods or tennis in the era of Roger Federer.

Despite strong growth, it plays in the shadow of China. Mexico’s nearly 16 percent growth rate is three points above the national average, a solid performance. It became only the third nation to surpass $300 billion in trade with the United States, following Canada, which accomplished the feat in 2002 and China, which passed the milestone in November.

Mexico only passed $200 billion for the first time in 2003. It narrowly missed having $200 billion in imports alone for 2006, ending at $198 billion, with only Canada and China having accomplished the feat.

It and Canada are the only two nations on the receiving end of more than $100 billion in U.S. exports. Consequently, the United States has a relatively large trade deficit with its southern neighbor, though smaller than China’s, Canada’s and Japan’s.

The leading Customs districts for Mexico’s trade with the United States are Laredo, Texas, with more than 40 percent of the total, followed by border districts El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.

Its leading imports into the United States are oil, motor vehicles and color TVs and computer monitors. The United States’ leading exports are car parts, computer chips and refined crude oil.

No. 4: In 2006, Japan became only the fourth nation to surpass $200 billion in total trade with the United States and it held firmly to its No. 4 overall ranking. Only two other nations have surpassed even $100 billion in trade with the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Japan buys more from the United States than all other nations, with the exception of Canada and Mexico. It outpaces China’s purchase of U.S. goods though that will likely change during 2007. U.S. goods headed to Japan, while growing at greater than 8 percent, are nevertheless advancing at about one-fourth the rate of China’s.

Japan is one of only four nations that sends more than $100 billion annually to the United States, and finished the year just shy of $150 billion.

The leading Customs districts for Japan’s trade with the United States are Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, the same as those for China, with a little less dominance by Los Angeles’ seaports and airports.

Its leading import into the United States is no surprise cars followed by car parts and computer parts. The United States’ leading exports are aircraft, aircraft parts and medical instruments.

No. 5: Germany is Europe’s leading trade partner with the United States, and is the fifth and final nation with which the United States does more than $100 billion in annual trade, a milestone it passed in 2004. It will be the next nation to surpass $100 billion in total imports to the United States, though it will probably not occur until 2008.

Overall, its trade is growing at a slower clip than the U.S. average; in fact, among the Top 10, only China and Mexico outpaced the national average though Malaysia was close. The U.S. trade deficit with Germany is the greatest among European nations, more than double that of the closest contenders, Italy and Ireland.

The leading Customs districts for Germany’s trade with the United States are New York, Charleston, S.C., and Chicago, with Los Angeles on the heels of the Illinois Customs district.

Its leading imports into the United States are cars, medicines and car parts. The United States leading exports are cars, regional jet parts and jet parts.

No. 6: The United Kingdom narrowly missed becoming the sixth nation in the United States’ $100 Billion Club, ending the year at $99 billion. The top six nations account for almost one-half of all U.S. trade.

South Korea, the next in line to surpass $100 billion in total trade and currently in Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the United States, is not likely to do so for another two years. In 2003, the United Kingdom eclipsed $70 billion for the first time. That is a 30 percent growth in that time period, below the U.S. average of more than 45 percent.

Among the Top 10 trade partners, the U.S. balance is best with the United Kingdom, although the United States still finished the year with a deficit of more than $8 billion. Nevertheless, that reverses three consecutive years of a growing U.S. deficit with the European nation.

The leading Customs districts for the United Kingdom’s trade with the United States are New Orleans, New York and Chicago.

Its leading imports into the United States are motor vehicles, crude oil and refined petroleum products. The United States’ leading exports are regional jet parts, medicines and jet parts.

No. 7: South Korea passed $70 billion in annual trade for the first time in 2006, having only passed $60 billion for the first time in 2004.

Since 2004, however, the Asian nation’s trade growth has been slower than the national average. Over that three year period, South Korea’s trade has grown almost 30 percent while the national average was 45 percent.

Compared with the two Asian nations ahead of it, South Korea has a relatively small and shrinking trade surplus with the United States. The U.S. deficit with South Korea has dropped by 50 percent, from more than $18 billion to slightly more than $13 billion.

The leading Customs districts for Korea’s trade with the United States are Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

Its leading imports into the United States are motor vehicles, cell phones and computer chips. The United States’ leading exports are computer chips, aircraft parts and machine parts.

No. 8: France is one of only two nations to make a jump in the Top 10 rankings in 2006, the other being China, which slipped past Mexico into the No. 2 slot.

France narrowly slipped past Taiwan, which is now No. 9. France’s trade grew by more than $5 billion in 2006, $1 billion more than Taiwan’s growth. Three billion of that growth was in imports into the United States, the remainder in exports to the European nation.

For the first time, France surpassed $60 billion in annual trade, one of only nine nations to have ever done so, and two more than last year. Taiwan is the other to have done so for the first time in 2006.

The leading Customs districts for France’s trade with the United States are New York, Chicago and Cleveland.

Its leading imports into the United States are medicine, regional jet parts and aircraft. The United States’ leading exports are regional jet parts, aircraft and aircraft parts.

No. 9: Taiwan slipped a notch to No. 9 in the rankings, narrowly falling behind France. The small island nation is nevertheless a trade powerhouse in the technology arena.

Like France, its total trade for 2006 jumped past $60 billion for the first time, but the rate of growth, 8 percent, was slower than both France’s and the nation at large. U.S. exports to Taiwan grew only half as fast as its overall trade, at slightly less than 4 percent.

Taiwan’s imports into the United States increased more than 10 percent. Consequently, Taiwan’s surplus with the United States ended a two-year decline and reached more than $15 billion, up from almost $13 billion in 2005.

The leading Customs districts for Taiwan’s trade with the United States are the West Coast Customs districts of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

Its leading imports into the United States are computer chip, computer parts and computers. The United States’ leading exports are computer chips, aircraft and machine parts.

No. 10: Malaysia held on to it No. 10 slot in the rankings, though No. 11 the Netherlands closed the gap between the two nations to less than $1 billion, down from almost $3 billion the last several years.

Malaysia should surpass $50 billion in total trade this year, ending 2006 at $49 billion. The Netherlands and No. 12 Venezuela also stand good chances of surpassing $50 billion in 2007.

Four nations in the Top 10 experienced double-digit growth in 2006 China, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Malaysia.

The leading Customs districts for U.S. trade with Malaysia are Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Orleans.

Its leading imports into the United States are computers, phone equipment, computer parts and computer processors. The United States leading exports to Malaysia are computer processors, computers, computer parts and medical technology.

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