International Business : Drop in U.S. Exports Seen

Slightly fewer American companies expect to sell their products overseas than last year, according to a Dun & Bradstreet Corp. survey published Wednesday.

About 17% of 5,000 companies surveyed in May said they plan to export during the next 12 months, down from 18.3% in the previous year’s survey.

The cautious forecast comes a day after the Commerce Department reported that the nation’s merchandise trade deficit surged 21.6% to $10.9 billion--the second-worst gap in U.S. history.

Among the exporters surveyed, an increasing number said they were concerned that conditions overseas were not ripe for trade.

The number of firms reporting poor economic conditions abroad increased from 23.3% last year to 44.8% this year, Dun & Bradstreet said.

The number of exporters reporting that foreign trade barriers are an obstacle in their dealings fell to 34.4% from last year’s 44.2%.

This perception was more common concerning Mexico and Canada, which with the United States approved the North American Free Trade Agreement earlier this year to gradually drop tariffs in the region.

Among those companies that said they plan to do business overseas this year, 60.8% said they expect those sales to be higher than last year, up from 59% in the previous year’s survey.

However, only 48% of the companies planning to export last year actually increased exports in the ensuing 12 months, the survey said.

According to Joseph W. Duncan, chief economist at Dun & Bradstreet, the poor showing in actual export activity is responsible for the cautious response companies gave to this year’s survey.

“It’s no wonder that their 1994 plans are timid,” he said. “The disappointment exporters experienced in 1993 helped shape their plans for 1994.”