Trade-weighted exchange rates constructed for the aggregate U.S. economy, such as those published by the Board of Governors, cannot always capture the changes in industry competitive conditions associated with movements in specific bilateral exchange rates. Exchange rates constructed using information on industry-specific trade partners are better suited for this task. We present industry-specific exchange rates constructed for U.S. manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries in two formats, spreadsheets and charts.
We also provide data files on the export, import, and imported input exposures for each U.S. industry. These exposures are defined as exports relative to shipments, imports relative to consumption, and imported input use relative to total production costs. These data show the trade orientation of each U.S. industry, and how this orientation is evolving over time.
Relative to peak values in early 2002, export-weighted exchange rates have depreciated by considerably more than import-weighted exchange rates. The most import-intensive industries had an average of 15.6% depreciation in their import-weighted exchange rates since 2002Q1, while the top export-intensive industries had an average of 22.5% depreciation in their export-weighted exchange rates during the same period.
The higher depreciation of the export-weighted rates is partly explained by the share of U.S. exports that have industrialized countries as their destinations, as the dollar has depreciated most dramatically against the currencies of these countries in the recent period.
The range of depreciations experienced across the import-weighted exchange rates is broader than across the export-weighted exchange rates. Industry patterns of import sources are more differentiated than industry patterns of export destinations.
