Exports help California reverse long-term manufacturing decline

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-california-export-gains-20120412,0,4696862.story

Consistently strong demand for California exports has helped the state reverse a long-term decline in manufacturing jobs, according to a report released by Beacon Economics.

The report said California has had an unbroken string of year-over-year export increases from November 2009 through February of this year.

The value of goods shipped abroad by California businesses in February reached $12.85 billion, up 9.2% from the $11.76 billion in exports reported in February 2011, according to the Beacon Economics analysis of U.S. Commerce Department trade statistics.

California’s exports of manufactured goods grew 9.1% to $8.22 billion, while non-manufactured exports, which are mostly raw materials and agricultural products, were up 3.6% to $1.61 billion.