Director’s Message
With this issue, the Survey of Current Business has reached a publication milestone: For the first time, we will publish in a Web-oriented format that allows for an enhanced presentation of our articles. Readers will be able to take advantage of new interactive tools, making it easier to view charts, table content, and even text. A PDF option will remain for those who would like to print out articles to read offline. We’re planning further enhancements and welcome feedback from all users. Please reach out to us at scb@bea.gov.
Bilateral trade statistics are important for understanding relationships between trading partners. Trade statistics published by partner countries differ for several reasons, and it is important for data users to understand why. We’re pleased to present an article that takes the first step in describing the asymmetries between the trade in services statistics produced by the United States and the United Kingdom by identifying differences in the definitions and methodologies used in each country and quantifying their contributions to the asymmetries.
We’re also pleased to present our annual article on recently released estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2016 and revised estimates for 2013–2015 for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These accounts are produced in collaboration with the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs and with staff from the territorial governments.
In addition, the “GDP and the Economy” article takes a look at the advance estimates of the national income and product accounts for the fourth quarter of 2017.
Brian C. Moyer
Director,
Bureau of Economic Analysis
