Exports climb as dollar falls

0 Comments | USA TODAY, November, 2007 | by Barbara Hagenbaugh

WASHINGTON -- A burst in exports was a key contributor to the biggest increase in economic activity in 1 1/2 years in the third quarter as a declining dollar made U.S. goods cheaper in the world marketplace and as U.S. firms cashed in on a strong global economy.

Exports rose 16.2% in the third quarter, more than double the rate of increase in the second quarter and the biggest gain in nearly four years, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Exports of goods rose at the fastest pace in more than a decade, and sales of services abroad also gained.

Last year, Samscreen, a Conklin, N.Y.-based company that makes accessories for the mining industry, made 50 sales abroad. This year, the firm has made more than 100 sales to international customers,...