U.S. Census Bureau News
U.S. Department of Commerce • Washington, D.C. 20230
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8:30 A.M. EST THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2006
For information contact: (301) 763-3629
CB-06-23
Kristen S. Corwin
Jeffrey McHugh
Christopher Farmer
Highlights from
A Profile of U.S. Exporting Companies, 2003 - 2004
The U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, released the report, A Profile of U.S.
Exporting Companies, 2003 - 2004, on March 9, 2006. The following Highlights from this report
focus on 2004 data. Additional information on 2004 data, revised 2003 data, and technical
documentation can be found in the full profile report.
In 2004 a category of U.S. companies called “identified U.S. exporters” accounted for $709 billion
in exports or almost 87 percent of the total value of exported goods ($819 billion). Identified U.S.
exporters are defined as companies that can be linked to export transactions. In 2004 the number of
identified U.S. exporters was 231,736, up from the revised 2003 estimate of 227,300.
Because not all export shipments can be linked to specific companies, the number of exporters may
be understated. Approximately 13 percent of the 2003 and 2004 total export value could not be
linked to specific companies. This portion of the total export value includes individuals,
governments, low-value estimates, and documentation filed with missing, unknown, or incomplete
company identifiers. Export values are taken from detailed export documentation used to compile
the official U.S. trade statistics. Company size and type information are taken from administrative
records and census or survey data on file with the Census Bureau.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) is a partial sponsor of this work, providing both
financial assistance and advice on data user needs. The ITA also sponsors more detailed tables,
which will be available on their Web site later this year. Users will be notified on the ITA Web
site, www.ita.doc.gov when the information is available.
The complete profile report