U.S. glass producers increased exports of flat glass between December 2016 and January 2017, while imports of flat glass decreased in the same period. The trend is a reversal of year-to-year data where flat glass exports trend downward.
The finding is according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data by The USGlass News Network. This month the USGNN said that flat glass exports spiked 6.5 percent to $114 million in January from the previous month; however total flat glass exports were down nearly 21 percent compared to January 2016.
The reverse is true of flat glass imports. In January, imports fell 1.3 percent from the previous month to $147 million; however flat glass imports increased nearly 6 percent since January last year.
Flat glass was in line with overall goods and services exports which increased by more than $1 billion in January; overall goods and services exports increased 7 percent from the year ago to $13 billion.