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Made in America: Goods Exports by State

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Exports by state

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Made in America: Goods Exports by State

After China, the U.S. is the next largest exporter of goods in the world, shipping out $1.8 trillion worth of goods in 2021—an increase of 23% over the previous year.

Of course, that massive number doesn’t tell the whole story. The U.S. economy is multifaceted, with varying levels of trade activity taking place all across the nation.

Using the latest data on international trade from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, we’ve visualized the value of America’s goods exports by state.

Top 10 Exporter States

Here are the top 10 American states that exported the highest dollar value worth of goods during 2021. Combined, these export-leading states represent 59.4% of the nation’s total exports.

RankStateTotal Exports Value% share
#1Texas$375.3 billion21.4%
#2California$175.1 billion10.0%
#3New York$84.9 billion 4.8%
#4Louisiana $76.8 billion4.4%
#5Illinois$65.9 billion3.8%
#6Michigan$55.5 billion3.2%
#7Florida$55.5 billion3.2%
#8Washington$53.6 billion3.1%
#9Ohio$50.4 billion2.9%
#10New Jersey$49.5 billion2.8%
Top 10 States$1.04 trillion59.4%

Texas has been the top exporting state in the U.S. for an incredible 20 years in a row.

Last year, Texas exported $375 billion worth of goods, which is more than California ($175 billion), New York ($85 billion), and Louisiana ($77 billion) combined. The state’s largest manufacturing export category is petroleum and coal products, but it’s also important to mention that Texas led the nation in tech exports for the ninth straight year.

California was the second highest exporter of goods in 2021 with a total value of $175 billion, an increase of 12% from the previous year. The state’s main export by value was computer and electronic product manufacturing, representing 17.8% of the total U.S. exports of that industry. California was also second among all states in exports of machinery manufacturing, accounting for 13.9% of the U.S. total.

What Type of Goods are Exported?

Here is a breakdown of the biggest U.S. export categories by value in 2021.

RankProduct GroupAnnual Export Value (2021)Share of Total Exports
1Mineral fuels including oil$239.8 billion13.7%
2Machinery including computers$209.3 billion11.9%
3Electrical machinery, equipment$185.4 billion10.6%
4Vehicles$122.2 billion7.0%
5Optical, technical, medical apparatus$91.7 billion5.2%
6Aircraft, spacecraft$89.1 billion5.1%
7Gems, precious metals $82.3 billion4.7%
8Pharmaceuticals$78 billion4.4%
9Plastics, plastic articles$74.3 billion4.2%
10Organic chemicals$42.9 billion2.4%

These top 10 export categories alone represent almost 70% of America’s total exports.

The biggest grower among this list is mineral fuels, up by 59% from last year. Pharmaceuticals saw the second biggest one-year increase (45%).

Top 10 U.S. Exports by Country of Destination

So who is buying “Made in America” products?

Unsurprisingly, neighboring countries Canada (17.5%) and Mexico (15.8%) are the two biggest buyers of American goods. Together, they purchase one-third of American exports.

RankDestination CountryShare of U.S. Goods Exports
1🇨🇦 Canada17.5%
2🇲🇽 Mexico15.8%
3🇨🇳 China8.6%
4🇯🇵 Japan4.3%
5🇰🇷 South Korea3.7%
6🇩🇪 Germany3.7%
7🇬🇧 United Kingdom3.5%
8 🇳🇱 Netherlands3.1%
9🇧🇷 Brazil2.7%
10🇮🇳 India2.3%

Three Asian countries round out the top five list: China (8.6%), Japan (4.3%), and South Korea (3.7%). Together, the top five countries account for around half of all goods exports.

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Globalization

All of the World’s Exports by Country, in One Chart

We visualize nearly $25 trillion of global exports by country, showing you the top exporting nations and the data behind it all.

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Top exporters

All of the World’s Exports by Country, in One Chart

In 2022, the total export value of global goods reached nearly $25 trillion.

With the evolution of international trade, the effects of globalization, and progress in technology, global trade has increased by around 300% over the last 20 years.

This visualization by Truman Du uses data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to chart the world’s top exporters by country.

China is Still the “World’s Factory”

The world’s largest 11 exporters shipped out $12.8 trillion of goods in 2022, more than the rest of the world combined ($12.1 trillion).

The list is headed by China, with $3.6 trillion or 14% of total exports. The country has been the largest exporter of goods in the world since 2009.

Top 11CountryExports (USD)
1🇨🇳 China$3.6T
2🇺🇸 U.S.$2.1T
3🇩🇪 Germany$1.7T
4🇳🇱 Netherlands$965.5B
5🇯🇵 Japan$746.9B
6🇰🇷 South Korea$683.6B
7🇮🇹 Italy$656.9B
8🇧🇪 Belgium$632.9B
9🇫🇷 France$617.8B
10🇭🇰 Hong Kong$609.9B
11🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates $598.5B

In 2022, the top products exported from China by value were phones (including smartphones), computers, optical readers, integrated circuits, solar power diodes, and semiconductors.

Two of China’s primary trading partners are neighboring countries Japan and South Korea.

Mexico Surpasses China as America’s Largest Trading Partner

China has built up significant trade relations with the European Union and the United States, two of the world’s largest markets for goods.

However, recent trade tensions have led to China losing its status as the United States’ biggest trading partner in 2023.

Mexico has now overtaken China as the largest seller to the United States. This shift in trade dynamics is part of a broader effort by the U.S. to import goods from closer to home and reduce its dependence on geopolitical rivals.

U.S. trade partners: China, Mexico, and Canada

The U.S. itself is the world’s second largest goods exporter, with over $2 trillion annually.

Canada was the largest purchaser of U.S. exports in 2022, accounting for 17% of total exports, followed by Mexico, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

The top exports of the United States are refined petroleum, petroleum gas, crude petroleum, cars, and integrated circuits.

The Regional View of Exports by Country

From a regional perspective, it’s clear Asia dominates the trading market with over 36% of the total exports, followed by Europe with 34%.

Exports by country, by region

Source: World Trade Organization

While Asian, European, and North American countries have manufactured and technology products among their main exports, African and South American countries mostly export commodities such as oil, gold, diamonds, cocoa, timber, and precious metals.

A New Era of Deglobalization?

International trade grew immensely at the beginning of the 21st century, from $15.6 trillion in 2001 to $40.7 trillion in 2008.

Since then, protectionist trade policies such as taxes on foreign goods and import quotas have increased by 663%. Similarly, global trade as a percent of GDP has also stalled out, peaking in 2008 and going sideways ever since.

Despite many countries reducing their interdependence and integration in the post-COVID era, global exports are still set to grow by 70% between 2020 and 2030, reaching $29.7 trillion by 2030, according to Standard Chartered.

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