Machinery

Author: Dennis Fravel
International Trade Analyst

Change in 2015 from 2014:

  To view changing data, mouseover the graphic below.

• U.S. total exports: Decreased by $7.4 billion (5.1 percent) to $138.5 billion
• U.S. general imports: Increased by $555 million (0.3 percent) to $185.5 billion

U.S. total exports of machinery fell by $7.4 billion (5 percent) in 2015. Some of the largest product-group declines were driven by lower global investment in electric energy production, resulting in declining exports of electric motors, generators, and related equipment.¹ Moreover, lower farm commodity prices led to reductions in U.S. exports of farm and garden machinery and equipment, declines in oil and gas industry reduced spending on pumps for liquids, and declines in both business and consumer spending undermined U.S. exports of air-conditioning equipment and parts.² The export markets that accounted for the largest declines were Canada (down by $2.7 billion, or 11 percent), Brazil (down by $1.1 billion, or 28 percent), South Korea (down by $592 million, or 9 percent), Venezuela (down by $501.4 million, or 31 percent), and Russia (down by $369 million, or 23 percent).

U.S. general imports increased by $555 million (0.3 percent) in 2015, primarily due to growth in imports of major household appliances, including commercial applications.³ However, this growth was almost entirely offset by decreases in U.S. general imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, pumps for liquids, and farm and garden machinery.⁴

The countries that saw the greatest increases in imports to the United States were China (up by $2.4 billion, or 5 percent), Mexico (up by $988 million, or 3 percent), and South Korea (up by $617 million, or 9 percent) (table MT.1). However, declines in imports from Japan (down by $1.4 billion, or 8 percent) and Canada (down by $763 million, or 6 percent) limited the overall rise in imports.

Table MT.1: Machinery: U.S. exports and general imports, by selected trading partners, 2011–15

Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce for the 2011–15 period. These reflect all official revisions of previously published data up to June 2015 (accessed February 10, 2016).
Note: Import values are based on Customs value; export values are based on free along ship value, U.S. port of export. Calculations based on unrounded data. The trading partners shown are those with the largest total U.S. trade (U.S. general imports plus U.S. domestic exports) in these products in the current year. Re-exports (also called foreign exports) are further defined in the “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQs).

U.S. Exports⁵

U.S. domestic exports of machinery substantially increased in only one product group, semiconductor manufacturing equipment (up by $1.4 billion, or 10 percent) (table MT.2). Declines in U.S. exports occurred in the other 28 product groups, led by electric motors, generators, and related equipment (down by $1.3 billion, or 15 percent); farm and garden machinery and equipment (down by $1.3 billion, or 12 percent); pumps for liquids (down by $1 billion, or 14 percent); and air-conditioning equipment and parts (down by $899 million, or 9 percent).

Table MT.2: Machinery: Leading changes in U.S. exports and imports, 2011–15 

Source: Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce for the 2011–15 period. These reflect all official revisions of previously published data up to June 2015 (accessed February 10, 2016).
Note: Import values are based on Customs value; export values are based on free along ship value, U.S. port of export. Calculations based on unrounded data.

U.S. domestic exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment rose significantly in 2015, with Japan, Taiwan, and China accounting for the largest increases in U.S. exports. During 2014–15, total sales of semiconductor equipment in Japan rose by 31 percent, in China by 12 percent, and in Taiwan by 2 percent.⁶ In Japan, companies such as the joint venture between Toshiba Corp. and SanDisk Corp.; Micron Technology, Inc.'s Japanese subsidiary, and Sony Corp. invested in semiconductor manufacturing equipment in 2015.⁷ In Taiwan, semiconductor equipment purchases were driven by large semiconductor foundries (i.e., semiconductor contract manufacturers).⁸ Shipments to China were likely due to investment by foreign semiconductor producers in their Chinese production facilities—for example, those producing semiconductor memory products.⁹

The United States experienced steep declines in exports of electric motors, generators, and related equipment to Canada (down by $416 million, or 25 percent), Algeria (down by $318 million, or 62 percent), China (down by $191 million, or 31 percent), and Brazil (down by $185 million, or 50 percent). Almost half of the decline ($201 million) in U.S. exports to Canada occurred in exports of wind turbines, likely due to the completion of various wind energy projects.¹⁰ Most of the decline in U.S. exports to Brazil was also due to a drop in shipments of wind turbines.¹¹ The decline in exports to Algeria and China were of electric generating sets related to electric power generation.

The decline in U.S. exports of farm and garden machinery and equipment was attributable to large drops in exports to Canada (down by $606 million, or 18 percent), Brazil (down by $208 million, or 49 percent), Russia (down by $157 million, or 62 percent), and Ukraine (down by $107 million, or 63 percent). In Canada, demand was lower for equipment for row crops, particularly combines.¹² The decline in U.S. exports to Brazil was principally due to weakness in the general economy, interruptions in funding for a government financing program, and a lack of growth in the sugarcane sector.¹³ The unstable economic situation in Russia and Ukraine likely had an adverse effect on U.S. exports to those countries.¹⁴ However, some of the decline in U.S. exports was offset by increases in those to China (up by $121 million, or 32 percent), Mexico (up by $85 million, or 6 percent), and Australia (up by $46 million, or 6 percent).

The drop in U.S. exports of pumps for liquids was likely due to wide-ranging declines in capital spending, beginning in the oil and gas industry and spreading to the chemical, power generation, water management, and other general industries, including mining and processing industries.¹⁵ Other factors included the stronger U.S. dollar; poor economic and geopolitical conditions in Latin America, the Middle East, and China; and lower aftermarket sales as customers deferred spending on repairs and maintenance.¹⁶ The largest declines in such exports were to Canada (down by $442 million, or 24 percent) and South Korea (down by $107 million, or 35 percent).

Lower U.S. exports of air-conditioning equipment and parts were due to a significant drop in exports of centrifugal and axial compressors to Mexico and China. These were likely for use with natural gas in either processing industries or in natural gas exploration or pipeline applications.

U.S. Imports

U.S. imports of machinery rose by $555 million (0.3 percent) in 2015, driven by increases in U.S. consumer spending, select business investment, and residential construction, though offset by investment declines in semiconductor manufacturing. The largest increase was in U.S. imports of household appliances, including for commercial applications (up by $1.9 billion, or 8 percent). The largest declines in U.S. machinery imports were in semiconductor manufacturing equipment (down by $2.4 billion, or 18 percent), pumps for liquids (down by $631 billion, or 8 percent), and farm and garden machinery and equipment (down by $535 million, or 6 percent).

The increase in U.S. imports of household appliances, including commercial applications, was largely due to increased imports of refrigeration equipment. Imports of household appliances primarily rose from China (up by $921 million, or 8 percent) and from Mexico (up by $810 million, or 14 percent). The North American appliance market grew by about 6 percent during 2015, driven by a good macroeconomic environment, increased housing starts, and rising purchasing power with a strong premium market segment.¹⁷

U.S. imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment declined as U.S. semiconductor producers purchased less equipment, in part due to higher investments in equipment in 2014.¹⁸ Between 2014 and 2015, sales of semiconductor equipment in North America fell by 37 percent.¹⁹

Lower U.S. imports of pumps for liquids were likely related to declines in spending in many end-use markets, as previously noted, but with particularly reduced spending on infrastructure in the U.S. crude petroleum and natural gas industry in 2015.

U.S. imports of farm and garden machinery and equipment fell due to reduced prices for farm commodities and lower U.S. farm income, leading to less spending on farm machinery and equipment.²⁰ Lower imports from Canada, Germany, and Italy were somewhat offset by higher imports from India and South Korea.