US exports up, but Obama's goal will not be met for 20 years: Drewry
DESPITE a robust American export performance in recent years, President Barack Obama's 2010 target of US$3.15 trillion by 2015 will fall short of its target at current growth rates by almost 20 years, according to Drewry Maritime Research.
US exports increased by 17 per cent in 2010, but fell to 14.5 per cent in 2011 and dropped to 4.6 per cent in 2012. Most recent data shows that after five months of 2013 growth slowed to 1.9 per cent.
The National Export Initiative (NEI), set up to meet the president's target in 2010, works to assist the bulk of US exporters - SMEs - by offering them advocacy, improved access to credit and markets.
"The failure of President Obama's export initiative emphasises how difficult it is to centrally engineer a recovery and it has not reduced the US container imbalance between exports and imports," said Drewry.
What the world craves is American know-how - not its goods - and thus its success will not proportionally impact container statistics, said the report.
"The real success has been in services, which make up around 30 per cent of total US exports. Between 2009 and 2012 the growth rate has been much higher than for goods at 78 per cent, boosted by science, digital technology and engineering sectors," said the London-based consultancy.
Despite its reputation as a global consumer, the US is ranked by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the world's second largest exporter behind China, overtaking Germany in 2010.
True, the US Census Bureau reported that number of US firms exporting goods in 2011 reached a new record of 302,260 (98 per cent of them SMEs), an increase of nine per cent since 2009.
While Boeing and Caterpillar-scale companies continue to dominate in dollar volume, SMEs were responsible for a third of all US goods exports with revenues in 2011 of $440.1 billion, up 42 per cent up on 2009.
President Obama's export initiative has spurred growth, but US 2009-12 export growth of 46 per cent was only on par with global trends and well down on China's 70.5 per cent.
DESPITE a robust American export performance in recent years, President Barack Obama's 2010 target of US$3.15 trillion by 2015 will fall short of its target at current growth rates by almost 20 years, according to Drewry Maritime Research.
US exports increased by 17 per cent in 2010, but fell to 14.5 per cent in 2011 and dropped to 4.6 per cent in 2012. Most recent data shows that after five months of 2013 growth slowed to 1.9 per cent.
The National Export Initiative (NEI), set up to meet the president's target in 2010, works to assist the bulk of US exporters - SMEs - by offering them advocacy, improved access to credit and markets.
"The failure of President Obama's export initiative emphasises how difficult it is to centrally engineer a recovery and it has not reduced the US container imbalance between exports and imports," said Drewry.
What the world craves is American know-how - not its goods - and thus its success will not proportionally impact container statistics, said the report.
"The real success has been in services, which make up around 30 per cent of total US exports. Between 2009 and 2012 the growth rate has been much higher than for goods at 78 per cent, boosted by science, digital technology and engineering sectors," said the London-based consultancy.
Despite its reputation as a global consumer, the US is ranked by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the world's second largest exporter behind China, overtaking Germany in 2010.
True, the US Census Bureau reported that number of US firms exporting goods in 2011 reached a new record of 302,260 (98 per cent of them SMEs), an increase of nine per cent since 2009.
While Boeing and Caterpillar-scale companies continue to dominate in dollar volume, SMEs were responsible for a third of all US goods exports with revenues in 2011 of $440.1 billion, up 42 per cent up on 2009.
President Obama's export initiative has spurred growth, but US 2009-12 export growth of 46 per cent was only on par with global trends and well down on China's 70.5 per cent.