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On the program today, what one number, one very big number can tell us about the prospects for

this economy. From American public media, this is Marketplace.

In Los Angeles, I'm Kai. Rizdole is Tuesday today, the 7th of February. It is always to have you

along. Everybody, we direct your attention today to part A, exhibit one of the Commerce Departments

report this morning on U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services. Run your finger down the page,

the left hand column until you get to the line that says 2022 January through December.

Then scan right just a little bit to find the trade gap for all of last year.

$948.06 billion dollars. We're going to round that to $948.1.

There's a minus sign in front of it because over the past 12 months, we've bought way more

stuff from overseas than we have sold. So what can that tell us about the economic state of

play right now? Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman is on duty. Let's start with exports. American

company sold less stuff abroad as the global economy slowed down. Sharon O'Hallarine is a U.S.

political economist teaching this semester at Trinity College Dublin. She says exports have also

been hurt by the strength of the dollar, which soared last year driven by rising U.S. interest rates.

...