The Goods We Export Help Us Avoid a Recession
Harold Meyerson ["Obama's Factory Factor," op-ed, Aug. 21] is to be commended for his concern about U.S. manufacturing, but he owed his readers a more careful reading of the facts than the New York Times’ Louis Uchitelle offered.
It is true that the dollar value of agricultural exports has grown by about $19 billion in the first half of this year, due in no small part to the historic rise in the prices of grains. But agriculture represents only 8.7 percent of the exports of U.S. goods and accounts for only 15 percent of total growth in exports of goods, while growth in the foreign sales of manufactured goods accounts for 81 percent of total growth.
A few examples give a flavor of how the weak dollar and higher productivity (productivity growth in manufacturing is consistently about twice that of the overall business sector) have helped strengthen manufacturing exports this year.
Exports of aircraft engines are up 13 percent compared with one year ago; exports of industrial engines are up 19.7 percent; excavating machinery exports are up 18.5 percent; medical equipment exports are up 13.6 percent; agricultural equipment exports are up 13.7 percent; civilian aircraft exports grew by 14.1 percent; and even exports of autos and parts, which represent greater volume than all agricultural goods, are up 6.2 percent.
In a slowing economy, exports of manufactured goods, which represent nearly three-fifths of all exports, have helped keep us out of recession.
Let’s at least get the facts straight as we try to craft ways to revive the overall economy.
source: washingtonpost.com
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