Government shutdown stops data flow

   With the government shutdown entering its second week, the lack of available staff has put a standstill to the usual free-flow of data coming from all corners of the government. According to reports, the Commerce Department was set to release data on trade this morning, but the shutdown has made that an impossibility. Employment numbers, which were to come out on Friday, were also delayed. 
   Due to the complete shutdown of some government Web sites, it’s impossible to even find historical trade data, in some cases. The Pew Research Center has pointed out that archived versions of the Commerce site are available courtesy of the Wayback Machine, so that is one avenue with which to explore for data from previous reports.
   Among the reports the Commerce Department produces are Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales, which measures the value of inventories held by shippers; the U.S. Trade Balance, which measures the difference between the value of imports and exports; and a report on the inventories and trade of wholesalers. All of these reports are produced monthly.