The trade balance in the chemicals industry improved to a surplus of $3.4 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau that was included in the most recent American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report. The 2010 year-to-date (YTD) exports for the business of chemistry in the U.S. totaled $126.7 billion, while the imports were $123.3 billion.
The surplus total of $3.4 billion represents a significant rise from the same period last year, when the surplus was only $11 million. If pharmaceuticals are excluded, the surplus nears $33 billion, up from a YTD total of $25.5 billion last year, according to the ACC’s analysis of the data.
The trade surplus in chemicals is largely attributed to exports of basic chemicals, which saw $60.6 billion in exports versus $36.6 billion in imports, the ACC report notes. Beyond the chemicals business, U.S. exports rose in September overall, while imports declined, ACC says.
Meanwhile, the ACC report also points out moderating industrial production in many overseas countries, and the ACC market capitalization inched downward by 0.6%, as did the S&P 500 index.