The largest export group is crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, and petrochemical products. The price soared by 50% as the price fell.
Written by Wolf Richter of Wolf Street.
The U.S.'s huge trade deficit could improve by 19% in 2023, or even become less severe, with exports of goods and services increasing to $3.05 trillion and imports of goods and services increasing to $3.05 trillion. The sharp decline to $3.83 trillion was not the worst. The trade deficit since 2020 is $773 billion. The US trade deficit with China and Hong Kong has been reduced by 29% as other countries such as Vietnam and Mexico have taken back some of the trade. As I detailed the other day, it's good that trade is finally improving, and it contributed significantly to the surprisingly strong GDP in 2023.
Despite its dire trade deficit, the United States still exports more than $2 trillion in goods alone, excluding services, about half of Germany's GDP. These exports will add $2 trillion to the US GDP in 2023. This is a big number. However, the United States is a huge economy and does not export enough considering the size of its economy. And it imports too much.
America's largest export product.
Industrial supplies/materials These include crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and petrochemicals, with a combined export value of $466 billion in 2023, up from $534 billion in 2023, a 50% jump in the same year. This is a 13% decrease from 2022, when US dollar products were exported. These products are the largest items in the entire “Industrial Materials and Materials” category. Some of the spikes and retracements are associated with sharp price movements.
The United States is the world's largest producer of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas, has a large petrochemical industry, and exports these products in large quantities.
| Industrial supplies/materials | 2023 | 2022 | % change |
| Total, in billions of dollars | 728.0 | 830.8 | -12.4% |
| Popular products: | |||
| crude oil | 116.9 | 119.1 | -1.9% |
| Other petroleum products | 77.3 | 91.2 | -15.2% |
| fuel oil | 47.9 | 58.5 | -18.1% |
| plastic material | 44.8 | 50.2 | -10.8% |
| Natural gas | 42.0 | 63.1 | -33.5% |
| Other chemicals | 39.5 | 42.0 | -6.0% |
| organic chemicals | 34.6 | 39.8 | -13.1% |
| Other industrial supplies | 32.9 | 32.6 | 1.1% |
| liquid natural gas | 30.9 | 38.0 | -18.7% |
| non-monetary gold | 29.6 | 40.1 | -26.3% |
| completed metal shape | 25.8 | 25.4 | 1.6% |
| newspaper | 12.6 | 14.7 | -14.2% |
| Precious metals, other | 12.3 | 18.8 | -34.5% |
| steel mill products | 12.2 | 12.0 | 1.5% |
| Coal/fuel, etc. | 11.9 | 11.8 | 1.4% |
| inorganic chemicals | 11.9 | 13.3 | -10.3% |
| Fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides | 11.1 | 15.9 | -30.2% |
| metallurgical grade coal | 11.0 | 13.6 | -19.2% |
| copper | 10.0 | 9.7 | 3.6% |
“Capital goods excluding automobiles” It was the number one export category until exports of crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, and petrochemicals increased rapidly.
| Capital goods excluding automobiles | 2023 | 2022 | % change |
| Total, in billions of dollars | 601.2 | 572.7 | 5.0% |
| Popular products: | |||
| Other industrial machinery | 68.8 | 73.9 | -6.8% |
| semiconductor | 57.1 | 66.5 | -14.1% |
| civil aircraft engine | 53.8 | 44.9 | 19.9% |
| electrical equipment | 53.2 | 49.2 | 8.1% |
| Medical equipment | 46.4 | 42.8 | 8.3% |
| communication equipment | 39.1 | 34.6 | 13.0% |
| civil aircraft | 35.9 | 29.2 | 23.0% |
| industrial engine | 29.6 | 26.8 | 10.8% |
| computer accessories | 29.1 | 31.5 | -7.7% |
| Measurement, test and control equipment | 28.8 | 27.6 | 4.5% |
| civil aircraft parts | 23.8 | 20.3 | 17.0% |
| Computer | 19.7 | 18.4 | 7.1% |
| generators, accessories | 15.1 | 14.0 | 8.5% |
| material handling equipment | 14.4 | 13.2 | 8.8% |
| clinical testing equipment | 14.1 | 13.9 | 1.7% |
| drilling machinery | 13.2 | 12.1 | 9.0% |
| Agricultural machinery/equipment | 11.0 | 10.0 | 9.7% |
| Photography, service industry machinery | 10.9 | 10.5 | 4.1% |
| metal processing machine tools | 7.5 | 6.9 | 9.1% |
“Consumer goods” The majority of exports are pharmaceuticals, and those exports have surged by 70% since 2019.
| consumer goods | 2023 | 2022 | % change |
| Total, in billions of dollars | 260.4 | 245.7 | 6.0% |
| Popular products: | |||
| pharmaceutical formulations | 102.0 | 89.3 | 14.2% |
| Mobile phones and other household items | 33.2 | 31.8 | 4.5% |
| gem diamond | 20.7 | 20.6 | 0.6% |
| toiletries and cosmetics | 15.0 | 14.4 | 4.6% |
| jewelry | 14.4 | 11.8 | 21.8% |
| Artwork and other collectibles | 11.3 | 11.1 | 2.2% |
| toys, games and sporting goods | 10.9 | 12.4 | -11.9% |
| Textile Apparel and Housewares | 8.2 | 8.4 | -2.3% |
“Automotive vehicles, parts, engines” Exports of products belonging to that category appear small compared to imports.
| Automotive vehicles, parts, engines | 2023 | 2022 | % change |
| Total, in billions of dollars | 179.0 | 159.7 | 12.1% |
| Popular products: | |||
| Other auto parts and accessories | 62.8 | 54.7 | 14.9% |
| passenger car | 61.6 | 57.2 | 7.7% |
| Trucks, buses, special vehicles | 29.8 | 24.4 | 22.2% |
| Engine and engine parts | 21.3 | 20.1 | 6.0% |
“Food, feed, and beverages” The amount of exports fluctuates greatly from year to year, with some products increasing rapidly and others decreasing. In 2023, the situation was complicated by low waters on the Mississippi River, which limited barge movement of grain, especially corn.
| food, feed, beverages | 2023 | 2022 | % change |
| Total, in billions of dollars | 162.5 | 179.9 | -9.7% |
| Popular products: | |||
| soy | 29.5 | 35.4 | -16.7% |
| meat, chicken etc. | 24.8 | 26.5 | -6.5% |
| Other foods | 17.5 | 17.8 | -1.4% |
| corn | 14.3 | 19.8 | -27.5% |
| animal feed, NEC | 13.1 | 12.4 | 5.4% |
| nuts | 9.7 | 9.7 | 0.2% |
| fruits, frozen juices | 8.7 | 8.6 | 0.8% |
| vegetables | 7.9 | 7.5 | 5.9% |
| bakery products | 7.7 | 7.1 | 8.0% |
| dairy products and eggs | 6.6 | 8.0 | -16.8% |
| wheat | 6.3 | 8.5 | -26.3% |
“Other products” Everything else that is exported that is not included in the five broad categories.
| Other goods | 2023 | 2022 | % change |
| Total, in billions of dollars | 88.4 | 76.4 | 15.8% |
Exports minus imports: Get on the right track.
As discussed here, merchandise exports (blue) fell by $39 billion to $2.5 trillion. Merchandise imports (purple) improved by $161 billion to $3.11 trillion. The goods trade deficit (red line) therefore improved by $121 billion to $1.6 trillion, the largest improvement since 2009.
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