California export trade finished 2016 with a sprint

California merchandise exports closed out a strong second half of last year with an exceptional December, pushing the state’s 2016 total to nearly $164 billion.

Golden State businesses shipped merchandise valued at $14.04 billion in December, up 9.3 percent from $12.85 billion in December 2015, according to Tuesday’s report by Beacon Economics, a consulting firm with offices in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Beacon breaks down California’s export totals from U.S. Census Bureau figures.

For all of 2016, Beacon said California shipped $163.62 billion in goods abroad, just a 1 percent dip from $165.37 billion amassed in 2015.

On a straight-up dollar basis, not adjusting for inflation, it was California fourth-best export year ever. The record of $174.13 billion was set in 2014.

Last year’s second-half rally was significant. Back in May, the economic struggles of key trading partners, a softening of prices California exporters were obtaining for their products and other factors saw the Golden State trailing its 2015 shipments by about 7 percent.

“After a sluggish start to the year, export numbers picked up in the spring and, despite a strong dollar (making U.S. goods more expensive to purchase) finished the year briskly,” said Jock O’Connell, Beacon’s international trade adviser.

O’Connell noted that a surge in transportation equipment exports and other manufactured goods helped drive the second-half rally.

In December alone, Beacon said exports of manufactured goods increased by 8.6 percent, to $9.05 billion from $8.33 billion a year earlier. Exports of non-manufactured goods – chiefly agricultural products and raw materials – jumped 14.1 percent, to $1.7 billion from about $1.5 billion; re-exports rose 9.3 percent, to $3.29 billion from $3.01 billion.

By comparison, Beacon noted, California’s 9.3 percent annual gain in December easily surpassed the 5.6 percent increase reported nationwide and the 2.4 percent gain by business rival Texas.

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "California export trade finished 2016 with a sprint."