Expand Exports to Help Keep Economy Afloat

摘要

IF THE U.S. ECONOMY were a man overboard, then recent U.S. export data would be the empty Styrofoam cooler that floated by and saved him. The 1.9 percent rise in second-quarter GDP was largely the result of exports of U.S. manufactured goods, boosted by the weak dollar, which is not only good news for U.S. industry and its metal suppliers but for the country at large. "The real story is that the 9.2 percent rise in exports more than offset the downturn in housing," said David Heuther, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. In fact, exports alone accounted for 61 percent of economic growth in the second quarter. Over the past year, fully two-thirds of GDP growth has come from U.S. exports, 63 percent of which are manufactured products.