Broken down by components, the disappoing number reflected increases in business investment, exports, housing investment, offset by a big slowdown in consumer spending. The increase in business investment reflected increases in both structures and equipment, notably a significant increase in mining exploration, shafts, and wells.

These positive contributions were offset by decreases in private inventory investment, state and local government spending, and federal government spending.

The increase in exports reflected an increase in nondurable industrial supplies and materials, notably petroleum. Also on trade, imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased in the first quarter of 2017. As the chart below shows, the dramatic drawdown in trade as a result of the soybean export surge giveback is now over, and net trade contributed a modest 0.1% to Q1 GDP.