What Are The Top Ten Exports?

I have data based on top exports by container.

Answer: Waste paper. American Nam Chung company by container.

I just got out of class, I'll send you a link in the morning. You won't believe it.

Milo

Thanks Milo, that's pretty interesting. Possibly might help us wrap our heads around the situation to know US exports by decades back? Dominance of wastepaper, and scrap metal seems weak.

"Waste paper and forest products and commodities. Now who would you say is the "colony" as characterized by exports and need for imports?"

Milo my friend, once again you have given us (most assuredly me, anyway) something to ponder and reflect upon. Well said.

[post script] Congratulations to you on your impending 200GA count.

Thanks Doorman!

I really do try to give/post the "good stuff" to challenge our thinking.

Transcendian, If its all right with you, I will make a blog post of our top exports and imports and we can put it up next week on speaking of precision and CR4.

I'll list the top ten or twenty of both imports and exports.

Regarding those GA's: The last few have been really slow coming, but we continue to be encouraged by the positive support of the folks here on CR4.

Thanks to all.

Milo

Thanks Milo.

While putting details of export and import top 10, if you add information about "where they export most & from where they import most", that will give another important, valuable information.

You said waste paper is highest export. Information about where most of this waste paper is exported will be great information.

Take care

A lot of the waste paper is used cardboard coming from our retail and grocery stores. It is going to countries that have little to no lumber industries. One of them is Japan. Bails of it have been seen loaded on car carriers for the return trip in the port here. It's being recycled to package electronics.

It's certainly all right with me. The thread question was influenced by your blog as concerns manufacturing.

I have a friend who runs an east Asian import business and he told me that the biggest export from the USA was empty containers. Now I can tell him that some are filled with waste paper.

As an aside to the topic of exports, one area that is underrated are American holiday destinations, restaurants, hotels, golf courses, and tourism in general as important revenue generators. Compared to holidaying in Europe, North America is a real bargain. I just returned from France and found it to be expensive, full of overrated restaurants with rude waiters, small 2 star hotels at five star prices. I could not even get a glass of water with ice! I have been told the the best restaurant in Paris is in Las Vegas and I agree. Although it is not exactly an export, you should push the tourism aspect. Keep manufacturing high end engineered products (aeronautics, ships, space technology) where others are still trying to catch up and they can't yet be put on an assembly line for minimally educated workers. Keep a step ahead (education does work) to be competitive. I speak from a Canadian perspective (still hewers of wood).

I heard new "visiting regulations" for tourists will be in place soon. The idea is to get more revenue out the pockets of tourists when entering the US. Including a reservation system as for rock concerts? Next to the $120.00 landing fees, they will also ask for an extra $15.00 - "admission fee" to boost (???) tourism? I just don't find any logic in it. While airline ticket prices (more than) doubled in the last 10 years, another boost might work the opposite way. We'll watch numbers and see.

I do agree with you. Travel costs are getting out of hand and taxes are often more than the actual flight. Canadians and Americans once claimed to have the longest undefended border in the world. Yet we now need passports to enter the States (this also applies to Americans returning from Canada). It just adds to the layers and I do understand the need to try to control who gets into the country after 911. I literally have a house 200 feet from the border with USA (in the St. Lawrence River though) and people tell me of the ability to boat across the river for breakfast and then return unhindered. Canadian border guards seemed more interested in the fact that we might buy a bottle of booze without paying Canadian taxes. Today, I fear the American border guards would throw me in jail if I ate breakfast in Clayton, N.Y. and the Canadian guards are now more concerned about guns and drugs. Alas, the good old days are gone.

Even though we see added layers of "travel tax" to the USA they are still vastly lower than European destinations. Still, I would go to USA vacation destinations before many other destinations. The Caribbean is still popular for Canadians in winter with Cuba very popular.

I think you must have been unlucky in France. Apart from Paris it's really not that bad. If it seemed expensive, that's down to the exchange rate, and you would have been hit even harder a couple of years back when it was 2$/£ or 2.50Can$/£ (I can't remember what the Euro rate was then).

Conversely, North America is dead cheap for Europeans these days, and I know that many, many more Brits head across the pond now than 10-20 years ago, even just for shopping trips to NY. I finally got my family back to Canada (and New England) for a holiday 5 years ago, and my wife couldn't believe how cheap everything was.

So, speaking as a fellow hewer of wood, I'm sure Tourism must already be way up in the US.

A few years ago the US dollar was about 1.4 to 1.5 Euro.

I recall a British friend of mine and I discussing global conspiracies as currencies appeared to align at 100 ¥/$, $2/£, $1.5/€, 1USD/1CAD and I think even gold was about $1000/oz. The numbers seemed too odd to occur concurrently.

You would think tourism would be very big in USA right now. I am not sure of numbers but with the layers (passport and border guard intimidation) placed on Canadians entering the States many of us are reluctant to endure the unpleasantness of travel. Many of my neighbours feel the same but we still make the trips just not as many as we would under better circumstances. Damn it all, I think the terrorists have really won but for safety reasons I must accept the layers. I have family in the States and for the most part Americans are very friendly. I think the US government could do a better job with advertising tourism and ally our border fears with Home security scrutiny. (Do border guards ever smile)? Tourism can be a much bigger economic driver in the US today.

We went to France to observe our grown daughters playing in an international soccer tournament. I suspect as you stated that Paris is less cordial and more expensive than the rest of France. Even with exchange the food and hotels were very pricey. Others, (American, German, and Fellow Canadian) also noted the same issues with the French. I hope they drop the attitude. My wife is a Brit by the way.

I agree with you 100% on this. Your first experience when you arrive in the US from the UK is certainly unpleasant and intimidating and time-consuming, and I'm sure it's got worse in recent years, but I don't know what impact it has on the level of tourists coming in from Europe. It's probably different if you're wanting to do it more regularly, except on business when you've got no choice.

Thinking about it, we see quite a bit of advertising here for tourism in Canada, but virtually nothing for the US. Perhaps the US government feels they don't need to advertise.

As for France, any non-Parisian would be the first to tell you how rude and unfriendly Parisians can be. Perhaps the French and Americans have enough in common here for a certain rapprochement, even if only Parisians and US border guards.

A weak Dollar should be good for any export products that have significant value for the buyer. I see that foreigners even come and shop in the US for the same reason. I think not only export products, but also investments such as real estate, and industry, attract returning currency. Also earlier bought yachts and some top cars find their way back, as used merchandise.

I was thinking the same thing and was going down the list to make sure no one else had said it already.

Someone needs to ask Art Vandelay. He is the expert on the import/export biz.

I would like to add Automobiles which were taken over by Japs.Also machine tools, soft drinks Coke, Pepsi, Pharma products.

Yes waste paper they are generated by printing Dollars .

As long as Dollar is strong American exports will be difficult.

Here in Canada where trade is primarily with the USA I will just quote the stats for Canada-USA trade.

Canadian Exports to U.S.

Of the $303.4 billion in American imports from Canada in 2006, the following product categories had the highest values.

1. Petroleum products …US$63.7 billion (21% of Canada to U.S. exports, up 6% from 2005)
2. Passenger cars … $36.6 billion (12.5%, up 1.5%)
3. Car parts & accessories … $15.6 billion (5.1%, down 2.5%)
4. Complete & assembled cars … $12.2 billion (4%, down 2.3%)
5. Aluminum … $7.7 billion (2.5%, up 36.1%)
6. Lumber … $6.6 billion (2.2%, down 8.9%)
7. Finishing materials (e.g. shingles, wallboard) … $5.9 billion (2.0%, down 10.7%)
8. Plastics … $5.8 billion (1.9%, up 7.9%)
9. Telecommunications … $4 billion (1.3%, down 0.7%)
10. Engines & parts … $3.98 billion (1.3%, down 8.6%)

Canadian Imports from U.S.

Of the $230.3 billion in American exports to Canada in 2006, the following product categories had the highest values.

1. Vehicle parts & accessories … US$23.6 billion (10.3% of Canada from U.S. imports, down 1.5% from 2005)
2. Passenger cars … $13.1 billion (5.7%, up 8.1%)
3. Trucks, buses & special purpose vehicles … $11.8 billion (5.1%, up 16.6%)
4. Industrial machines … $7.5 billion (3.2%, up 9.4%)
5. Engines & parts … $6.4 billion (2.8%, up 3.3%)
6. Plastics … $6.3 billion (2.7%, up 5.9%)
7. Electric apparatus … $5.7 billion (2.5%, up 11.2%)
8. Computer accessories … $5.2 billion (2.3%, down 5.9%)
9. Industrial engines … $4.7 billion (2.0%, up 2.9%)
10. Iron & steel mill products … $4.3 billion (1.9%, up 7.2%)

Note that contrary to popular belief the largest supplier of oil and gas products to the USA is NOT a middle eastern country, it's your buddies to the north.

Currently the US Speaker of the house is up here to lecture us on our "dirty" oil from the oil sands projects. Please note that China has no such qualms, perhaps our new pipelines should run to the west coast instead of south?

For some third world asian countries I believe top exports are:man power,tea,rubber, coconut, leather,gemstones,vegetables,fruits,ceramics,vegetable oils,minerals,tourism, spices,rice,garments etc