GOODS

CENSUS BASIS

The Census basis goods data are compiled from the documents collected by the U.S. Customs
and Border Protection and reflect the movement of goods between foreign countries and the
50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. Foreign
Trade Zones.  They include government and non-government shipments of goods, and exclude
shipments between the United States and its territories and possessions, transactions with
U.S. military, diplomatic and consular installations abroad, U.S. goods returned to the
United States by its Armed Forces, personal and household effects of travelers, and in-transit
shipments.  The General Imports value reflects the total arrival of merchandise from foreign
countries that immediately enters consumption channels, warehouses, or Foreign Trade Zones.

For imports, the value reported is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection appraised value
of merchandise; generally, the price paid for merchandise for export to the United States.
Import duties, freight, insurance, and other charges incurred in bringing merchandise to
the United States are excluded.

Exports are valued at the f.a.s. (free alongside ship) value of merchandise at the U.S. port
of export, based on the transaction price including inland freight, insurance, and other
charges incurred in placing the merchandise alongside the carrier at the U.S. port of
exportation.

Revision policy for goods on a Census basis:  Monthly data include actual month's transactions
as well as a small number of transactions for previous months.  Each month the U.S. Census
Bureau revises the aggregate seasonally adjusted (current and chain-weighted dollar) and
unadjusted export, import and trade balance figures, as well as the end-use totals for the
prior month.  SITC and country detail data are not revised monthly.  The timing adjustment
shown in Exhibit 14 is the difference between monthly data as originally reported and as
recompiled.  Quarterly revisions are made to the chain-weighted dollar series.  In the last
month of each quarter, the current and previous quarter are revised to incorporate the Bureau
of Labor Statistics' monthly revisions to price indexes, which are used to produce the
chained-dollar series and to align Census data with data published by the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis in the National Income and Product Accounts.  Annual revisions for the months
are made in June to reflect corrections received subsequent to the monthly revisions.  These
revisions are reflected in totals, end-use, SITC, and country summary data.  The monthly end-use,
commodity, and country and area data presented in Exhibits 6-18 in this release are on a Census
basis.

U.S./CANADA DATA EXCHANGE AND SUBSTITUTION

The data for U.S. exports to Canada are derived from import data compiled by Canada.  The use of
Canada's import data to produce U.S. export data requires several alignments in order to compare
the two series.

1. Coverage - Canadian imports are based on country of origin.  U.S. goods shipped from a third
   country are included.  U.S. exports exclude these foreign shipments.  For May 2011, these
   shipments totaled $134.7 million.  U.S. export coverage also excludes U.S. postal shipments to
   Canada.  For May 2011, these shipments totaled $27.3 million.

   U.S. import coverage includes shipments of railcars and locomotives from Canada.  Effective
   with January 2004 statistics, Canada excludes these shipments from its goods exports to the
   United States, therefore creating coverage differences between the two countries for these
   goods.

2. Valuation - Canadian imports are valued at the point of origin in the United States.  However,
   U.S. exports are valued at the port of exit in the United States and include inland freight
   charges, making the U.S. export value slightly larger than the Canadian import value.  Canada
   requires inland freight to be reported separately from the value of the goods.  Combining the
   inland freight and the Canadian reported import value provides a consistent valuation for all
   U.S. exports.  Inland freight charges for May 2011 accounted for 2.4 percent of the value of U.S.
   exports to Canada.

3. Reexports - Unlike Canadian imports, which are based on country of origin, U.S. exports include
   reexports of foreign goods.  Therefore, the aggregate U.S. export figure is slightly larger than
   the Canadian import figure.  For May 2011, reexports to Canada were $3,902.9 million.

4. Exchange Rate - Average monthly exchange rates are applied to convert the published data to U.S.
   currency.  For May 2011, the average exchange rate was 0.9680 Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar.

5. Other - There are other minor differences, which are statistically insignificant, such as
   rounding error.

Canadian Estimates

Effective with January 2001 statistics, the current month data for exports to Canada contain an
estimate for late arrivals and corrections.  The following month, this estimate is replaced, in the
press release tables only, with the actual value of late receipts and corrections.  This estimate
improves the current month data for exports to Canada and treats late receipts for exports to Canada
in a manner more consistent with the treatment of late receipts for exports to other countries.

Nonsampling errors

The goods data are a complete enumeration of documents collected by the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection and are not subject to sampling errors.  Quality assurance procedures are performed
at every stage of collection, processing and tabulation; however, the data are still subject to
several types of nonsampling errors.  The most significant of these include reporting errors,
undocumented shipments, timeliness, data capture errors, and errors in the estimation of low-valued
transactions.

Reporting Errors: Reporting errors are mistakes or omissions made by importers, exporters or their
agents in their import or export declarations.  Most errors involve missing or invalid commodity
classification codes and missing or incorrect quantities or shipping weights.  They have a negligible
effect on aggregate import, export and balance of trade statistics.  However, they can affect the
detailed commodity statistics.

Undocumented Shipments: Federal regulations require importers, exporters or their agents to report all
merchandise shipments above established exemption levels.  The U.S. Census Bureau has determined
that not all required documents are filed, particularly for exports.

Timeliness and Data Capture Errors: The U.S. Census Bureau captures import and export information
from administrative documents and through various automated collection programs.  Documents may be
lost, and data may be incorrectly keyed, coded or recorded.  Transactions may be included in a
subsequent month's statistics if received late.

Low-valued Transactions: The total values of transactions valued as much as or below $2,500 for exports
and $2,000 ($250 for certain quota items) for imports are estimated for each country, using factors
based on the ratios of low-valued shipments to individual country totals for past periods.

The U.S. Census Bureau recommends that data users incorporate this information into their analyses,
as nonsampling errors could impact the conclusion drawn from the results.  For a detailed discussion
of errors affecting the goods data, see "U.S. Merchandise Trade Statistics: A Quality Profile"
available on the internet at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aip/index.html#infopapers
or from the Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

AREA GROUPINGS (See Exhibits 14 and 14A)

North America - Canada, Mexico

Europe - Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia,
Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Svalbard-Jan Mayen Island, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican City.

European Union - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Euro Area - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain.

Pacific Rim - Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia,
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan.

South/Central America - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,
Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas),
French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat,
Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Sint Maarten, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay,
Venezuela.

OPEC - Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Venezuela.

Africa - Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, British Indian Ocean Territories, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa),
Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Gabon,
Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion,
Rwanda, St. Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa,
Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Adjustments for Seasonal and Working-Day Variations

Goods are initially classified under the Harmonized System, which describes and measures the
characteristics of goods traded.  Combining trade into approximately 140 export and 140 import
end-use categories makes it possible to examine goods according to their principal uses.
(See Exhibits 7 and 8).  These categories are used as the basis for computing the seasonal and
working-day adjusted data.  These adjusted data are then summed to the six end-use aggregates for
publication (Exhibit 6).  These data are provided to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, from the
U.S. Census Bureau, for use in the Balance of Payments and the National Income and Product Accounts.

The seasonal adjustment procedure is based on a model that estimates the monthly movements as
percentages above or below the general level of each end-use commodity series (unlike other methods
that redistribute the actual series values over the calendar year).  Because of the extremely
variable movements of the data series for aircraft, users studying data trends may wish to analyze
aircraft separately from other trade.

Adjustments for Price Change

Data adjusted for seasonal variation on a chained-dollar basis (2005 base year) are presented in
Exhibits 10 and 11.  This adjustment for price change is done using the Fisher chain-weighted
methodology.  The deflators are primarily based upon the monthly price indexes published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics using techniques developed for the National Income and Product Accounts
by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

SITC Data

Goods data appearing in Exhibit 15 are classified in terms of the Standard International Trade
Classification (SITC) Revision 3.  Agricultural goods consist of non-marine food products and other
products of agriculture which have not passed through complex processes of manufacture, such as raw
hides and skins, fats and oils, and wine.  A few goods such as essential oils, starches, casein, and
albumin, considered to be agricultural by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have been excluded from
agricultural goods and are included in manufactured goods where they are classified in the SITC.

Manufactured goods conform to the SITC sections that include chemicals and related products;
manufactured goods classified chiefly by material; machinery and transport equipment; miscellaneous
manufactured articles; and goods and transactions not classified elsewhere.

Reexports are foreign merchandise entering the country as imports, and at the time of exportation
are in substantially the same condition as when imported.  Reexports, included in overall export
totals, appear as separate line items in Exhibit 15.

Advanced Technology Products (ATP)

About 500 of some 22,000 commodity classification codes used in reporting U.S. merchandise trade are
identified as "advanced technology" codes and they meet the following criteria:

1. The code contains products whose technology is from a recognized high technology field
   (e.g., biotechnology).

2. These products represent leading edge technology in that field.

3. Such products constitute a significant part of all items covered in the selected classification code.

The aggregation of the goods results in a measure of advanced technology trade which appears in
Exhibits 16 and 16A.  This product and commodity-based measure of advanced technology differs from
broader NAICS industry-based measures which include all goods produced by a particular industry group,
regardless of the level of technology embodied in the goods.

GOODS (BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BASIS)

Goods on a Census basis are adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to a balance of
payments basis to align the data with the concepts and definitions used to prepare the international
and national economic accounts.  These adjustments, which are applied separately to exports and imports,
are necessary to supplement coverage of the Census basis data, to eliminate duplication of transactions
recorded elsewhere in the international accounts, and to value transactions according to a standard
definition.  They include both additions to and deductions from goods on a Census basis and are
presented in this release as "Net Adjustments."  Adjustments that exhibit significant seasonal patterns
are seasonally adjusted.  BEA also publishes more detailed quarterly and annual statistics for Net
Adjustments in a standard table of the U.S. international transactions accounts, Table 2. U.S. Trade
in Goods.  (See the BEA Web site at /international/bp_web or the January, April,
July, and October issues of the Survey of Current Business).

The export adjustments include:

   Exports under U.S. military sales contracts - This adjustment reflects the net amount of two separate
   adjustments.  BEA first deducts goods identified in the Census data as exports under the U.S. Foreign
   Military Sales program.  BEA then adds primary source data for these exports, which are reported to BEA
   by the U.S. Department of Defense.

   Gold exports, nonmonetary - This addition is made for gold that is purchased by foreign official
   agencies from private dealers in the United States and held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
   The Census data only include gold that leaves the U.S. customs territory.

   Goods procured in U.S. ports by foreign carriers - This addition is made for foreign air and ocean
   carriers' fuel purchases in U.S. ports.

   Low-value transactions - This addition is made to phase in a revised Census Bureau methodology for
   low-value goods for statistics prior to 2010.  The revised methodology was implemented for goods on
   a Census basis beginning with statistics for 2010.

   Other adjustments to exports include:

   Deductions for equipment repairs (parts and labor), developed motion picture film, and military
   grant-aid.  Additions for sales of fish caught in U.S. territorial waters, exports of electricity
   to Mexico, private gift parcels, and vessels and oil rigs for which ownership changes.

The import adjustments include:

   Gold imports, nonmonetary - This addition is made for gold sold by foreign official agencies to
   private purchasers out of stock held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  The Census data only
   include gold that enters the U.S. customs territory.

   Goods procured in foreign ports by U.S. carriers - This addition is made for U.S. air and ocean
   carriers' fuel purchases in foreign ports.

   Imports by U.S. military agencies - This adjustment reflects the net amount of two separate
   adjustments.  BEA first deducts goods (petroleum and non-petroleum) identified in the Census data as
   imports by U.S. military agencies.  BEA then adds primary source data for purchases of petroleum
   abroad by U.S. military agencies, which are reported to BEA by the U.S. Department of Defense.
   Non-petroleum imports are included, along with imports of services by U.S. military agencies, in
   the services category direct defense expenditures.

   Inland freight in Canada and Mexico - This addition is made for inland freight in Canada and Mexico.
   Imports of goods from all countries should be valued at the customs value - the value at the foreign
   port of export including inland freight charges.  For imports from Canada and Mexico, this should be
   the cost of the goods at the U.S. border.  However, the customs value for imports for certain
   Canadian and Mexican goods is the point of origin in Canada or Mexico.  BEA makes an addition for
   the inland freight charges of transporting these goods to the U.S. border to make the value comparable
   to the customs value reported for imports from other countries.

   Low-value transactions - This addition is made to phase in a revised Census Bureau methodology for
   low-value goods for statistics prior to 2010.  The revised methodology was implemented for goods on
   a Census basis beginning with statistics for 2010.

   Other adjustments made to imports include:

   Deductions for equipment repairs (parts and labor), repairs to U.S. vessels abroad, and developed
   motion picture film.  Additions for non-reported imports of locomotives and railcars, imports of
   electricity from Mexico, conversion of vessels for commercial use, and valuation of software imports
   at market value.

SERVICES

The services statistics cover transactions between foreign countries and the 50 states, the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories and possessions.
Transactions with U.S. military, diplomatic, and consular installations abroad are excluded because
they are considered to be part of the U.S. economy.

Services statistics are based on quarterly, annual, and benchmark surveys and information obtained from
monthly government and industry reports.  Services are seasonally adjusted when statistically significant
seasonal patterns are present.  No monthly country or area detail is available due to the lack of
adequate source data.

Services are shown in seven broad categories.  The types of services for exports and imports are the
same for six of the categories.  For the seventh, the export category is transfers under U.S.
military sales contracts and the import category is direct defense expenditures.  The following is a
brief description of the types of services included in each category:

   Travel - Purchases of services and goods by U.S. travelers abroad and by foreign visitors to the
   United States.  A traveler is defined as a person who stays for a period of less than 1 year in a
   country of which the person is not a resident.  Includes cruise fares and expenditures for food,
   lodging, recreation, gifts, and other items incidental to a foreign visit.

   Passenger fares - Fares paid by residents of one country to transportation carriers of other countries.
   Receipts consist of fares received by U.S. carriers from foreign residents for travel between the
   United States and foreign countries and between two foreign points.  Payments consist of fares paid
   by U.S. residents to foreign carriers for travel between the United States and foreign countries.
   Excludes cruise fares, which are included in travel.

   Other transportation - Transactions include freight charges for the transportation of goods to and
   from the United States, operating expenses that transportation companies incur in foreign ports,
   postal services, and payments for vessel charter and aircraft leasing with crew.  Excludes air and
   ocean carriers' fuel purchases in foreign ports, which are included in exports and imports of goods
   on a balance of payments (BOP) basis.

   Royalties and license fees - Transactions for the rights to use, the rights to reproduce or distribute,
   and the outright sale of intellectual property, such as patents, techniques, processes, formulas,
   designs, know-how, trademarks, copyrights, franchises, and manufacturing rights.  The term "royalties"
   generally refers to payments for the use of copyrights or trademarks; the term "license fees" generally
   refers to payments for the use of patents or industrial processes.  Includes fees for the rights to
   distribute film and television recordings.  Includes transactions with both affiliated (related parties)
   and unaffiliated foreign residents.

   Other private services - Transactions consist of education services; financial services (includes
   fees and commissions and excludes investment income); insurance services; telecommunications services
   (includes transmission services and value-added services); business, professional, and technical
   services (includes advertising services; computer and data processing services; database and other
   information services; research, development, and testing services; management, consulting, and public
   relations services; legal services; construction services; architectural and engineering services; mining
   services; industrial engineering services; installation, maintenance, and repair of equipment; and
   medical services); and other services.  Includes transactions with both affiliated (related parties) and
   unaffiliated foreign residents.

   Transfers under U.S. military sales contracts (Exports only) - Transactions include exports of services,
   such as training services and repair services, provided by U.S. government military agencies through
   grants and the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.  Includes exports of goods that are commingled
   in the source data and cannot be separately identified.  Excludes exports of goods under the FMS program,
   which are included in exports of goods on a BOP basis.

   Direct defense expenditures (Imports only) - Transactions include expenditures by U.S. military agencies
   abroad, including expenditures by U.S. personnel, payments of wages to foreign residents, construction
   expenditures, payments for foreign contractual services, and procurement of foreign goods.  Excludes
   petroleum purchases abroad, which are included in imports of goods on a BOP basis.

   U.S. government miscellaneous services - Transactions of U.S. government nonmilitary agencies with
   foreign residents.  Most of these transactions involve the provision of services to, or purchases of
   services from, foreigners.  Some goods transactions are also included.

Revision policy for goods on a balance of payments basis and for services:  Each month, a preliminary
estimate for the current month and a revised estimate for the immediately preceding month are released.
After the initial revision, no further revisions are made to a month until more complete source data become
available in March, June, September, and December.  The releases in March, June, September, and December
contain revised estimates for the previous six months.  The release in March also contains revisions for
all months of the previous year in order to align the seasonally adjusted monthly data with annual totals.
The release in June also contains annual revisions, which reflect updated source data, changes in
definitions and classifications, and changes in estimating methodologies.

U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS ACCOUNTS

Quarterly and annual estimates of goods on a balance of payments basis and services are included in the
U.S. international transactions accounts, which are published in news releases in March, June, September,
and December and in the Survey of Current Business in the January, April, July, and October issues.
The next release of the international transactions accounts is scheduled for September 15, 2011.
The Survey of Current Business is available online at www.bea.gov/scb/index.htm or from the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

MONTHLY RELEASE SCHEDULE

Month    Date        Day

Jan      03-10-11    Thursday
Feb      04-12-11    Tuesday
Mar      05-11-11    Wednesday
Apr      06-09-11    Thursday
May      07-12-11    Tuesday
Jun      08-11-11    Thursday
Jul      09-08-11    Thursday
Aug      10-13-11    Thursday
Sep      11-10-11    Thursday
Oct      12-09-11    Friday

ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY

The FT-900 and supplement are available on the following:

INTERNET The U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services reports are available at:
www.census.gov/ft900 or www.bea.gov/newsreleases/international/trade/tradnewsrelease.htm.

Additional data and information on goods are obtainable from: Foreign Trade Division,
U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, D.C.  20233

Additional data and information on services are obtainable from: Balance of Payments
Division, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Washington, D.C. 20230

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