Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Talk about a trade imbalance! Automobile imports and exports, 1913.

France might have had a technological edge in 1913, but in the U.S. it was production technologies.  And that advantage showed up in import/export statistics for the year 1913, as the world approached war.

In the 9 months ending in September 1913 France, Germany, Italy, the UK and others imported into the U.,S. some 388 vehicles. In response, the U.S. exported 20,953, of which 20,175 were passenger vehicles. As one might expect, the big markets included Canada(5,260), the UK(3,900), and South America(2,418). Surprisingly exports to British Oceania totaled 2,418; to Asia 1,170, to France 655 and Germany 858.

The American auto industry was in its vibrant youth in 1913. Today, are we at middle age or in a letter state of our manufacturing lifetime. Only time will tell.  Everything rises and falls on leadership.


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