A new U.S. Department of Commerce report shows that total June exports of $195.9 billion and imports of $237.4 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $41.5 billion, down from $44.7 billion in May. In reaction to the report, David Huether, senior vice president of research and economics at the U.S. Travel Association, said June was another reliable month of export growth for the travel industry, as travel exports grew by $51 million to $14.6 billion. As a result, the travel industry’s trade surplus remained steady at $4.3 billion, 9 percent higher than June of last year. “The growth of travel exports has greatly outperformed that of other industries, which has slowed considerably in 2013,” Huether said. Travel exports are up 7.1 percent compared to the same point a year ago, a growth rate more than four times faster than the 1.7 percent increase in other U.S. exports. As a result, the travel industry has generated one quarter of the overall increase in U.S. exports so far this year.” Read the full release here.
