In 1996, the U.S. trade surplus in these products was $120 million, according to the report.

The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, recently released the report as part of an ongoing series of reports on the thousands of products imported into and exported from the United States. Following are other highlights of the report.

• U.S. producers of explosives, propellant powders, and related items appear to be competitive in foreign markets on the basis of price, quality, and security of supply, although trade in many explosives is limited by safety considerations. The U.S. coal mining industry is the largest consumer of these products.

• U.S. production of explosives, propellant powders, and related items in the United States ranged from $1.5 billion to nearly $1.8 billion during 1992-96, the period covered by the report. Employment averaged about 13,000 to 14,000 persons during this period. Imports accounted for approximately 12 percent to 15 percent of U.S. consumption of these products, with significant quantities coming from producers in China, Canada, and Mexico. The top markets for U.S. exports were Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia, with total U.S. exports representing approximately 15 percent to 20 percent of U.S. production.

• The largest U.S. industrial consumers of these products include the mining, quarrying, and construction sectors. These sectors primarily use high explosives and related items, such as detonators. Private consumer demand is mainly for propellant powders and for fireworks. Overall, demand for these products closely parallels the condition of the general U.S. economy. In particular, demand is impacted from year to year by the overall economic conditions in the mining and construction sectors of the domestic economy.

The foregoing information is from the ITC report Industry and Trade Summary: Explosives, Propellant Powders, and Related Items (USITC Publication 3081, March 1998).

ITC Industry and Trade Summary reports include information on product uses, U.S. and foreign producers, and customs treatment of the product being studied. They analyze the basic factors affecting trends in consumption, production, and trade of the commodities, as well as factors bearing on the competitiveness of the U.S. industry in domestic and foreign markets.

This report will be available on the ITC's Internet server (www.usitc.gov). A printed copy may be requested by calling 202-205-1809 or by writing the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may also be faxed to 202-205-2104.