US rubber-product trade balance declines

Washington - The US rubber-product trade deficit topped $1 billion again for August 2015, with imports more than doubling exports for the month, the latest official data shows.

The shortfall for August was 4.6-percent higher than the year-earlier period, as exports dropped 11.6 percent to $868.5 million and imports dipped 3.3 percent to $1.96 billion, according to data from the U.S. Commerce Department.

Through the first eight months of 2015, the trade deficit climbed 5.3 percent to $8.6 billion. Exports declined 5.7 percent to $6.82 billion and imports stayed steady at $15.4 billion.

Among individual categories, the August shortfall for tires and related products increased 2.6 percent to $730.1 billion. Exports fell 17.5 percent to $449.2 million and imports declined 6.1 percent to $1.18 billion. For the year, the sector's trade deficit also was up 2.6 percent to $6.27 billion.

In other categories for August, the hose and tubing deficit dipped 34 percent to $23.2 million; the belting shortfall was off 20 percent to $11.8 million; the miscellaneous hard rubber goods deficit jumped 22.1 percent to $92.5 million; and the rubber- and plastic-coated garment shortfall rose 11.3 percent to $238.9 million.

On the supply side, the trade surplus for August grew 42 percent to $113.7 million. Through eight months of 2015, the surplus spiked 58.6 percent to $800.1 million.