The Evolving External Orientation of Manufacturing Industries: Evidence from Four Countries

Significant changes in the external orientation of manufacturing industries are observed in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, but not in Japan. The observed increases in external orientation are in terms of industry export shares, import penetration, and imported input use in production. United States industries have experienced a particularly dramatic increase in imported input use, accompanied by highly variable patterns of industry net external orientation over the past two decades. Although similar manufacturing industries have strong export orientation in all countries, across countries these same industries have profoundly different patterns of import penetration, imported input use, and net external exposure to exchange rate and trade policy changes