Summary
I received an e-mail recently, asking about the impact rising oil imports were having on the US trade deficit. My quick answer was, "sizable," since I did not have the figures immediately available. Now I do, and here they are.
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As the table below indicates, crude oil imports totaled just over $12 billion in August, equal to 8% of total imports. As a percentage of goods-only imports ($124.8 billion), the figure was 9.7%. (August is the most recent month for which trade data have been reported.)
For this year's first eight months, oil imports totaled about $81.9 billion, or 7.1% of total imports. Of goods-only imports ($954.6 billion) for this eight-month period, oil imports equaled 8.6%.
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TOTAL U.S. IMPORTS AND CRUDE OIL IMPORTS*
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Crude Oil Imports
Total -----------------------
Imports@ Barrels Value Avg. Crude/
Year/ -------- -------------- Price Total
Month (Amounts in Billions) Per Bbl. (%)
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2004
Aug. $ 150.069 0.331 $12.044 $36.37 8.0
July 146.463 0.319 10.611 33.28 7.2
June 148.106 0.347 11.697 33.76 7.9
May 143.965 0.316 10.474 33.12 7.3
Apr. 142.509 0.312 9.669 31.00 6.8
Mar. 142.272 0.332 10.162 30.64 7.1
Feb. 138.034 0.288 8.395 29.17 6.1
Jan. 134.373 0.309 8.835 28.55 6.6
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To
Date $1145.791 2.554 $81.887 $32.06 7.1
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2003 $1517.011 3.676 $99.167 $26.98 6.5
1998 1098.363 3.243 37.252 11.49 3.4
1993 713.058 2.543 38.469 15.13 5.4
1988 545.715 1.888 25.844 13.69 4.7
1983 323.874 1.294 38.184 29.51 11.8
1978 208.191 2.392 32.140 13.43 15.4
1973 89.342 1.393 4.593 3.30 5.1
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*Source: US Department of Commerce. @Goods
and services. MEMO ITEM: Crude oil to goods-
only imports: 1973 = 6.5%, Aug. 2004 = 9.7%.
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Incorporating the figures in the table below, here's another way of assessing oil imports within the context of the nation's trade deficit. What would the deficit look like if the United States neither imported nor exported any crude oil?
In August, the goods-and-services deficit came in at $54.0 billion. In the absence of any US oil imports, this figure would have been $42.0 billion, or more than 22% lower. For 2004 to date through August, zero oil imports would have lowered the cumulative deficit by $81.9 billion, or by 20.8%.
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U.S. TRADE DEFICIT (GOODS & SERVICES)*
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2004 2003
------- -------
August $ 54.041 $ 40.185
July 50.547 40.814
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$104.588 $ 80.999
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June $ 55.021 $ 40.035
May 47.070 40.827
April 48.194 42.519
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2nd Qtr. $150.285 $123.381
------- -------
March $ 47.052 $ 43.659
February 45.785 40.375
January 45.768 41.354
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1st Qtr. $138.605 $125.388
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8-Mo. Total $393.478 $329.768
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*Source: US Dept. of Commerce.
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