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Changes in 2019 from 2018:
- U.S. total exports of transportation equipment decreased by $145 million (0.0 percent) to $338.6 billion.
- U.S. general imports of transportation equipment increased by $12.5 billion (2.7 percent) to $472.0 billion.
In 2019, U.S. total exports of transportation equipment declined slightly for the first time since 2016, falling by $145 million (less than 0.05 percent) to $338.6 billion from 2018 (table TE.1). By contrast, U.S. imports increased by $12.5 billion (2.7 percent) in 2019, continuing a trend seen in the previous two years (table TE.2).
Canada, Mexico, and China continued to be the top destination markets for U.S. domestic exports of transportation equipment in 2019, accounting for $127.7 billion, or 42.6 percent, of U.S. domestic exports. Although U.S. domestic exports to Canada and Mexico remained relatively steady in 2019, decreasing by $1.5 billion (2.0 percent) and $411 million (1.1 percent) from 2018, respectively, U.S. domestic exports to China fell more steeply, declining by $8.6 billion (29.7 percent) to $20.4 billion. U.S. domestic exports to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway also experienced large decreases.
These decreases were largely offset by increases in U.S. domestic exports of transportation equipment to other destination markets. U.S. domestic exports to Belgium more than doubled from 2018 to 2019, increasing by $4.0 billion (127.7 percent) to $7.2 billion. As a result of this increase, Belgium climbed to the ninth place to be among the top 10 destinations for the first time in recent years for U.S. domestic exports of transportation equipment. U.S. domestic exports to Japan and Germany also climbed, by $2.3 billion (24.6 percent) and $1.7 billion (10.7 percent), respectively.
Trends in U.S. domestic exports of transportation equipment in 2019 were influenced by exports of aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment (TE013), which declined by $6.2 billion (5.0 percent), and by exports of certain motor-vehicle parts (TE010), which fell by $2.7 billion (6.6 percent). Domestic exports of motor vehicles (TE009) were an exception to the general decrease, rising by $6.0 billion (9.0 percent) in 2019.
Mexico, Canada, and Japan were the top three import sources of transportation equipment imported into the United States in 2019, accounting for $277.7 billion (58.8 percent) of U.S. imports. The increase in imports of transportation equipment in 2019 was due largely to a rise in imports from Mexico, which grew by $9.2 billion (7.2 percent) to $136.1 billion, with Mexico individually accounting for 28.8 percent of imports in this sector. U.S. imports from France also rose from 2018 to 2019, increasing by $4.1 billion (28.7 percent) to $18.4 billion. By contrast, U.S. imports from China fell to $26.7 billion, down $4.2 billion (13.5 percent) from the previous year. U.S. imports from Japan also decreased by $2.4 billion (3.4 percent) to $70.1 billion in 2019.
Motor vehicles (TE009) made up 46.1 percent of U.S. imports in this sector in 2019 and led the overall increase in U.S. imports in terms of value, with a rise of $6.5 billion in 2019. Imports of aircraft engines and gas turbines (TE001) had the largest percentage change, increasing 16.9 percent from $26.5 billion in 2018 to $30.9 billion in 2019. Aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment (TE013) also contributed to the rise of U.S. imports, gaining $3.0 billion (an increase of 9.4 percent) to reach $35.5 billion in 2019. However, U.S. imports of certain motor-vehicle parts (TE010) and internal combustion piston engines other than for aircraft (TE002) declined, though not enough to offset the increases seen in other sectors. U.S. imports of certain motor-vehicle parts (TE010) fell by $1.7 billion (1.9 percent) in 2019, and U.S. imports of internal combustion piston engines, other than for aircraft (TE002), declined by $1.1 billion (3.3 percent).