U.S. Exports Hit Nearly $180 Billion in October

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States exported $179.2 billion in goods and services in October 2011, according to data released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Commerce Department.

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Exports of goods and services over the last twelve months totaled $2.072 trillion, which is 31.57 percent above the level of exports in 2009. Over the last twelve months, exports have been growing at an annualized rate of 16.1 percent when compared to 2009, a pace greater than the 15 percent required to double exports by 2015.

"Increasing exports is critical to revitalizing our nation's economy and preserving our global competitiveness," said Chairman Hochberg. "I am pleased that October's numbers show that we are still on track to meet the president's National Export Initiative goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015."

Over the last twelve months, the major export markets with the largest annualized increase in U.S. goods purchased were Turkey (47.3 percent), Panama (40.2 percent), Honduras (37.5 percent), Argentina (34.4 percent), Hong Kong (32.0 percent), Peru (31.1 percent), Thailand (30.4 percent), Brazil (29.7 percent), South Africa (29.4 percent), and Chile (28.7 percent).

Also contributing to U.S. export growth, Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011, a record for the Bank. This total includes more than $6 billion directly supporting small-business export sales. The Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $41 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs.

About Export-Import Bank
Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank is a self-sustaining agency that receives no net appropriation from the U.S. Congress and charges interest and fees to fund its transactions.

The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the United States