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South Florida's trade off 18% in April, still among best performers in U.S.
South Florida’s trade with the world fell 18.35 percent in April, when compared to the previous April, according to the U.S. Census data released today and analyzed by WorldCity. But that percentage loss was nevertheless small enough to make it one of the top performing Customs districts in the nation.
There is a sea of red in the trade data — only two of nearly four dozen Customs districts, Honolulu and Washington, D.C., registered an increase in trade in April.
As if that weren’t bad enough, trade fell at a faster clip in April of 2009, when compared against April of 2008, than it had in March.
For the United States as a whole, trade was off 31.5 percent in April compared to 26.03 percent in March. That 31.5 percent decrease amounts to a loss of $73.45 billion in trade.
For the Miami Customs district, which runs from Palm Beach County in the north to Monroe County in the south, trade fell $1.82 billion in April. It had fallen $1.23 billion in March, when compared against the previous March.
Looking at year-to-date data — cumulative, January through April — South Florida’s trade is down a smaller 12.84 percent, or $3.63 billion. But that percentage has increased each month of the year as trade has slackened, from 5.9 percent in January to 9.41 percent in February to 10.77 percent in March.
Trade with Brazil, South Florida’s longtime No. 1 trade partner, has fallen the most through the first four months of the year, down $692.25 million, followed by No. 9 Costa Rica, off $527.72 million, and No. 27 Japan, off $354.63 million. Costa Rica had been No. 5 and Japan, No. 13.
For the first four months of the year, exports are off a relatively minor 6.53 percent, or $1.1 billion, while imports have slid 22.17 percent, or $2.53 billion. Consequently, South Florida’s trade surplus, which established a new U.S. record in 2008, increased from $5.45 billion to $6.88 billion.
Imports from Brazil fell $438.07 million through the first four months of the year followed by No. 3-ranked Venezuela, which saw its imports into South Florida drop $360.76 million. Even China’s imports into South Florida fell, dropping $261.51 million, though it remains the top importing nation into the Miami Customs district.
On the import side, the steep decline in South Florida can be explained easily. Of the $2.53 billion decrease over April 2008 year-to-date figures, $736.78 million is a decrease the value of gasoline and other refined petroleum products and $505.52 million is a decrease in aircraft, almost exclusively sent by Embraer from Brazil. Those two account for slightly less than 50 percent of the total decrease.
On the export side, the biggest declines were in computer chips, computers, motor vehicles, cellular and landline phones, and heavy construction equipment.
Because South Florida’s trade has fallen less rapidly than other Customs districts around the nation, it now ranks as the nation’s No. 11 Customs district, surpassing Cleveland, Buffalo and Philadelphia.
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