PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island exports increased slightly, 1.2 percent, in October when compared to a year earlier.
When comparing October to September however, exports dropped 9.4 percent to $174 million, according to data released Friday by e-forecasting.com.
Manufactured goods, which account for 57 percent of all state exports, decreased by 7.5 percent as non-manufactured exports – agricultural goods, mining products and re-exports – fell 11.8 percent.
In a ranking of export growth for the first 10 months of the year, Rhode Island ranked No. 18 at 22.2 percent growth.
The Ocean State fared far better than its New England counterparts for export growth year-to-date: Maine came in No. 26; Massachusetts at No. 44; New Hampshire, No. 48; Connecticut, No. 49; and Vermont, No. 50.
Nationally, exports grew 13.5 percent from a year earlier but declined 1.2 percent from a month earlier.
“The projections on global growth and international trade suggest a slowdown in incoming export orders for Rhode Island companies. The weakening of foreign demand will lessen production activity at the state level and, as a result, there will be no gains in export-related jobs next year,” said chief economist Evangelos Simos.