CNMI’s economy posts robust figures for 2014

Several economic indicators are pointing to an economic upswing for the CNMI in 2014.

A report released by the CNMI Department of Commerce on Thursday contained several key indicators including banking activity, imports and exports, building permits and values, and car sales, among others.

Almost all indicators indicate an upward trend.

The report compared figures from 2013 and 2014, and provided a breakdown of the figures on a quarterly basis.

The report, however, did not contain a figure or estimate of the CNMI’s gross domestic product for both years.

According to Commerce Secretary Mark O. Rabauliman, a report on the CNMI’s consumer price index will be released separately.

The GDP and CPI are considered the major indicators of a country’s economy.

“Certain data were not readily available from sources, but we are confident such will be provided in the coming quarters,” Rabauliman said.

Banking activity

The report said banking activities for 2014 indicated a substantial increase from that of 2013.

Total deposits (checking, cash, and total savings) for 2014 reached $632.96 million, compared with $583.32 in 2013 indicating a substantial increase.

Total loans also increased to $164.85 million in 2014 from $151.09 million in 2013.

Total consumer loans in 2014 reached $80.57 million, compared to $64.02 million in 2013.

Real estate loans for 2014 reached $42.88 million, which is a slight decrease from the $46.6 million posted in 2013.

Commercial loans reached $41.40 million in 2014, which is a slight increase from the $41.23 million in 2013.

Car sales

In terms of auto sales, a total of 1,465 new units were sold in 2014, compared to 1,041 units in 2013. Used cars sold in 2014 totaled 191 units, which is slightly lower than the 216 units sold in 2013.

On a quarterly basis, new car sales for the fourth quarter of 2014 reached 421 units, which is higher than the 330 new units sold in the same quarter of 2013.

Business gross revenues

The report said fourth quarter figures for 2014 (calendar year) indicating business gross revenues are not available as of the moment.

For the first quarter of 2014, BGR hit $394.63 million while the second quarter BGR reached $407.72 million.

For the third quarter of 2014, BGR hit $414.56 million, posting an increase from the $373.45 million BGR posted in the same quarter.

The average of $414.56 million in BGR for 2014 (excluding the fourth quarter) is higher than the $381.99 million posted for the whole of 2013.

Imports and exports

The report indicated total revenue tonnage (in thousands) for the CNMI’s imports and exports.

Import items included petroleum, oil, lubricants (collectively called P.O.L), cement, garments, food items, construction materials, beverages and others (which includes vehicles, tobacco, clothing, heavy equipment, and all others).

For the fourth quarter of 2014, total revenue tonnage for imports reached 100,700 compared to 94,840 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Third quarter figures also indicated an increase, with 91,170 in 2014 compared to 80,640 in the same quarter in 2013.

Leading import items are P.O.L, reaching 38,700 in the fourth quarter of 2014, which is a slight increase from the 38,480 P.O.L. in the same quarter in 2013.

“Others,” which include vehicles, tobacco, clothing, heavy equipment, and all others, reached 38,480 in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to the 26,760 reached in the same quarter in 2013.

Total exports for the fourth quarter of 2014 reached 2,876.40, compared with 1,754.46 in the same quarter in 2013.
However, total revenue tonnage in the third quarter (4,114.49) in 2013 is higher than the 2,275.73 total in the same quarter in 2014.

Building permits

The number of building permits issued in 2014 totaled 113, which is lower than the 135 permits issued in 2013.

In terms of breakdown, there were 66 commercial, 39 residential, and 8 government permits issued in 2014.

However, there is a major upswing in the value of the permits, particularly in the second quarter of 2014, when the total value of commercial permits reached $20.2 million, compared to the last two quarters of 2013 with just $1.18 million in the fourth quarter and $1.90 million in the third quarter.

The value of commercial permits in the third quarter of 2014 of $3.82 million was also significantly higher than the $1.18 million in the same period in 2013.