Did you know that you could use USA Trade Online to see the hottest commodities on the market? I was curious to see which U.S. exports had the biggest growth in value during the third quarter over the last year. Using 10-digit HS commodity specific detail, I was able to discover that hides and skins, commonly used for leather goods, had three out of the top five largest growth rates. Through the third quarter (September 2010 Y-T-D), raw hides were #5 with a 2500% increase, buffalo hides were #4 with a 2800% increase and tan skins of animals were #1 with an incredible 5400% increase!

You can take it a step further by diving into the State Exports on USA Trade Online to see that this jump has been spurred on in large part by states rebounding and in some cases, completely surpassing, 2008 figures. This table tracks the states with the largest value increase in the exporting of hides and skins.

A recent Bloomberg article noted that the agricultural Midwest has been “leading the U.S. economic recovery” and with record exports and in some cases lower unemployment rates (see Nebraska at 4.6 percent vs. the national 9.8 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics November unemployment figures). These figures definitely reflect a boom amongst the items used to produce leather goods.

Want to see where all of these skins are going? The answers are awaiting you on USA Trade Online. And who knows… You may discover Mala’s Data Digest was right!