The share contributed to GDP in today's report breaks down as follows:
Personal consumption of goods and services: 34%
Private domestic investment: 4%
Net from export trade: 37%
Government consumption: 23%
I don't believe the import number in the report, which was -1.7%!
What, did the weather close all the ports of entry during July, August and September and we didn't know about it?
Imports, of course, subtract from GDP, so this negative import number boosts the contribution made by exports to GDP.
The last time the import number was negative was in the advance estimate of 1Q GDP, at -1.4%.
You remember 1Q, right, the terrible winter months of January, February and March? But as we all know, that negative number became +0.7% in the second estimate, and +1.8% in the third and final report.
Also note that a surge in defense spending in the third quarter for the war against ISIS all by itself accounts for almost 19% of GDP in this report and 80% of the reported share of government consumption contributing to GDP.
Backing out that government spending on the war means the GDP number is more like 2.8%.
And economists had expected GDP to come in at 3%.
