R.I. exports grow 34% from August to September

RHODE ISLAND companies sold 35.1 percent more goods abroad in September compared with September 2013, and 34 percent more goods abroad in September compared with August's numbers. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM
RHODE ISLAND companies sold 35.1 percent more goods abroad in September compared with September 2013, and 34 percent more goods abroad in September compared with August's numbers. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island exports increased 34 percent from August to September to $245 million from $182.9 million, according to the latest report from e-forecasting.com.

The strong showing in September placed Rhode Island at No. 10 in terms of growth among the 50 states through the first nine months of the year with an 8.4 percent increase.

For the third month in a row, Hawaii was No. 1 in export growth with a 129 percent increase for the first nine months of the year. Utah was last with a 31.2 percent decline. Massachusetts was No. 22 with 4.5 percent growth, and Connecticut was No. 38 (-4.3 percent).

Manufactured goods drove Rhode Island’s September sales abroad, accounting for 61 percent of all state exports. Foreign shipments from Rhode Island’s manufacturers increased in September by 13.8 percent from the previous month to $148.6 million, adjusted for seasonal variation.

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On a year-over-year basis, Ocean State companies sold 35.1 percent, or $63.6 million, more goods than in September 2013.

Exports of non-manufactured goods, which include agricultural goods, mining products and re-exports, rose 84.3 percent in September to $96.4 million.

According to the latest business survey conducted by the Institute of Supply Management, October export orders were slower than in September nationwide, which is “no good news for Rhode Island’s exporting companies, as slow incoming export orders imply a weakening production and no additional jobs in the future,” e-forecasting.com reported.

Worldwide, merchandise exports increased 2.6 percent in the first nine months of 2014, according to data from the World Trade Organization based on 70 reporting countries. Those countries account for more than 90 percent of world trade.

Nationwide, exports rose by 3 percent compared with the first nine months of last year.

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