Shifts in U.S. Merchandise Trade 2010, an annual compendium of data and analysis examining changes in trade with key U.S. partners and in important U.S. industries, was released today by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). The independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency releases the information in a web-based format that provides details and reasons for key shifts in trade, searchable by country or industry group and subgroup.

Users will find a comprehensive review of U.S. trade performance in 2010, focusing on changes in U.S. exports, imports, and trade balances of agricultural and manufacturing industries; key natural resources; and changes in U.S. trade with major partners and country groups. Also included are profiles of the U.S. industry and market for more than 250 industry groups and subgroups, featuring data for 2006-10 on consumption, production, employment, and trade.

The report examines: industry developments and the principal drivers influencing trends in U.S. trade; leading products the United States exported to and imported from its most important trading partners, and the key factors influencing trade in these products; price fluctuations, increased global consumption of energy-related products, greater consumer access to financing for the purchase of durable products, and other major factors affecting U.S. trade in 2010.

Source: USITC