NOTICE

In this news release and in the accompanying “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services:
April 2012” release, the U.S. Census Bureau (Census) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA) are publishing revised statistics on both U.S. trade in goods and U.S. trade in services
for January 2009 to March 2012.  The revised statistics will also appear in “U.S International
Transactions: First Quarter 2012” and in the annual revision of the U.S. international
transactions accounts, both to be released by BEA on
June 14, 2012.

This annual revision has not changed the overall trend in the goods and services balance.  On
an annual basis, the goods and services deficit was revised down 0.6 percent for 2009, was revised
down 1.1 percent for 2010, and was virtually unrevised for 2011.  The goods deficit was revised
down for 2009 and 2010 and up for 2011; the services surplus was revised up for all three years.
These revisions reflect newly available and revised source data and minor improvements to estimation
methodologies.

Goods

Goods on a Census basis for 2011 were revised to 1) redistribute monthly data that arrived too late
for inclusion in the month of transaction and were initially included in the month in which the data
were received and 2) apply corrections to previously published 2011 statistics.  In addition,
statistics for 2009-2011 were revised as a result of the reclassification of several commodities to
end-use categories; these reclassifications were introduced in March 2012 beginning with the January
2012 statistics.  Seasonal and trading-day adjustments were then recalculated, and the seasonally
adjusted current-dollar series were revised for January 2009 to March 2012.

Census has revised the real chained-dollar series to 1) update selected seasonally adjusted export
and import prices back to 2002 and 2) incorporate improved quality-adjusted price indexes for capital
goods (telecommunications equipment) back to 2002.  The historical chained-dollar series 
were revised back to 1994 because the
reference year (2005) was revised.  These changes improve consistency between the Census chained-dollar
data and the chained-dollar data published by BEA in the National Income and Product Accounts.  For
related changes implemented by BEA, see “Annual Revision of the National Income and Product Accounts”
in the August 2011 Survey of Current Business.

Balance of payments (BOP) adjustments – adjustments that BEA applies to goods on a Census basis to
convert them to a BOP basis – for January 2009 to March 2012 were revised to introduce new adjustments
to revalue exports and imports of recorded smart cards from media value to market value and to
incorporate revised source data on other adjustments.  These adjustments are combined and presented
as “Net Adjustments” in this release.

Services

Services exports and imports for January 2009 to March 2012 were revised mostly as a result of newly
available and revised source data, primarily from BEA’s surveys of international services transactions.

• Full Release & Tables
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• Text Full Release
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• Tables Only
  (Excel)
• Trade in Goods and Services, 1992-present
  (Excel)  

• Interactive Tables