New Data Show Rise in State’s Exports

Correcting an inaccurate report issued last week, a research group said Monday that California’s exports of manufactured goods and other products rose 13.2% during the first three months of this year.

Analysts called the first-quarter increase in exports a substantial gain. But they predicted California’s foreign trade would taper off, or decline, this quarter.

The new trade figures, released by the Massachusetts Institute for Social and Economic Research in Amherst, Mass., corrected an inaccurate export report issued Friday by the same organization.

The research institute, a unit of the University of Massachusetts that provides information to state agencies and other clients, had mistakenly said that California exports declined 11.6% in the first quarter of 2001. The institute attributed the mistake to a clerical error.

According to the corrected numbers, California’s products exports totaled $30.3 billion in the first quarter, up from $26.8 billion in the same period last year. The figures provide an upbeat economic signal that counters other recent indicators showing that the state has entered a slowdown.

The state’s top export partner was Japan, which took 17.9% more California exports, followed by Mexico, up 6.2%, and Canada, up 5.2%. Among the state’s top 10 export partners, declines were posted by only two: South Korea, off 8.8%, and Taiwan, down 2.1%.

Export increases were enjoyed by a broad spectrum of California industries, with all top 10 business categories reporting gains. The state’s top product export industry, computer and electronic products, was up 9.1%.