By: Joe, Matt,Veronica, Dalton, Natalie, Tyler

What Kind of Number does the indicator Represent?

● The number is a dollar value, typically negative, which represents the amount of money, in goods and services that we export, minus the dollar value of the goods and services that we import. The number shows that very few americans are employed in factories because our production is very low compared to the amount of goods we import.

Who measures the trade balance?

The US Trade Balance is measured by the US Census Bureau on a monthly basis.

How is the number measured?

The balance of trade is calculated by taking the total number of imports minus the total number of exports for a given country. The value of imports and exports is calculated by the Automated Commercial System, which requires by law that businesses submit information on transactions. The number is accurate, however is also an estimate as it is not able to account for EVERY single transaction made in a country.

What does the number tell us in general terms? Generally speaking, what type of change would make for good news?

GDP=C+I+G+(X-M)

15,470.7=C+I+G+(1,957.4-2,388.2)

15,470.7=C+I+G+(1,957.4-1,750.4)Would prefer if the

trade balance was in the positive zone.

This equation represents the exports and imports into the United States. The trade balance number in general explains to us how much we produce, export and sell to other countries, while at the same time how much we import. Lately the United States have been exporting more goods which has a positive influence on the GDP. The reason why exports have been increasing is that the dollar is weaker and this allows us to trade more competitively in the marketplace also in countries which have a stronger currency. We should feel good if the deficit between exports and imports decrease, but if the deficit increase then we should start to worry. If the deficit decreases than the GDP will grow causing investment, consumption, and government spending to increase. Overall we would prefer if the trade balance was in the positive zone.

Life on Main Street, USA

This number is typically negative showing that we import more that we export. Because of this, less Americans are employed in factories and other production centers. This shows that storefronts are selling more foreign goods and consumers are purchasing more of these foreign goods, thus hurting American business.

What is the latest value of the number? How has it changed recently?

The recent numbers are negative, the most recent one being -424.4 billion. Before that, also in 2013 in an earlier quarterly report, it was -422.3 billion. So we went slightly higher in the same year. At the end of 2012 it was -412.1 billion, which was a healthier place to be, but the aside from the end of 2012, the number seems to be staying in the same range of 420.0-430.0 billion.