California’s share of U.S. exports was essentially unchanged in December – 8.9 percent – compared with the previous two months, according to a report released Feb. 7.
The state’s s export trade during the final month of last year was worth $14.883 billion, down 2.2 percent year-over-year, while exports of manufactured goods fell 6.7 percent, to $9.3 billion, during that time, Beacon Economics in Los Angeles reported.
On the positive side, exports of California’s agricultural products and raw materials increased 16 percent to $2 billion, up from $1.7 billion year-over-year.
The slight drop in exports can be blamed on a drop in export prices.
“Nationally, the price index for all U.S. exports decreased by nearly one percent in December and by 3.2 percent across all of 2023,” said Jock O’Connell, Beacon’s international trade advisor, in a statement, “If you got what you paid for, importers of California products were generally getting more than what they had previously paid for.”