State exports rise in October

California exported an estimated $16.4 billion worth of merchandise in October, a 5.3 percent year-over-year increase, according to data released Dec. 5.

During the same period, U.S. exports fell 0.7 percent, to $176.876 billion, which allowed California’s share of the country’s exports to rise to 9.3 percent, Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics reported.

Exactly one year ago, the state’s percentage of U.S. exports was 8.8 percent.

To put those numbers in perspective, exports from Texas in October fell 6.9 percent year-over-year, while overseas shipments from Florida dropped by 4.2 percent.

Exports of goods manufactured in California fell by 1.1 percent to $9.48 billion, down from $9.5 billion in October 2023.

During the first 10 months of this year, California’s exports totaled $152.6 billion, a 2.5 percent gain year-over-year, according to Beacon.

“October’s 5.3 percent bump in California’s merchandise exports was all the more gratifying given the fall-off in exports nationally, and in certain rival states, which lose no opportunity to mock California,” said Jock O’Connell, Beacon Economics’ International trade advisor, said in a statement.

Beacon’s monthly analysis is based on data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division.