Book Exports Dropped 7% in First Six Months

A soft economy both in the U.S. and overseas was the main factor behind a decline in book exports and imports in the six-month period ended June 30. According to estimates from the Commerce Department, exports fell 7.5% in the first half of 2002, to $774.3 million, while imports dropped 8.1%, to $697 million.

Exports were down to America's three largest trading partners, with the most significant drop in exports to Japan, which fell 25.1%, to $54.2 million. Exports to Canada, the largest market for U.S. books, fell 3.6%, to $323.3 million, while shipments to the U.K. were down 5.8%, to $123.6 million. Overall, exports fell to nine of America's 15 largest book markets. The largest decline was to Brazil, where the value of exports was cut in half, to $5.2 million. Other significant declines included a 42.7% drop to the Netherlands; a 25.8% decline to Germany; and a 24.8% drop to South Africa.

A bright spot was India, where exports rose 44.7%, to $10.6 million. Exports to Hong Kong rose 21.3%, to $18.4 million, while shipments to Mexico increased 9.1%, to $30.8 million.

Among the major book categories, exports of textbooks jumped 16.5%, to $175.9 million, but most other segments were down. Exports of professional titles dropped 19.3%, to $172.7 million, while exports of paperbacks fell 24.4%, to $72 million, and hardbound exports declined 51.9%, to $24.9 million.