December 2011
Exports Support Jobs for Iowa's Workers
Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 7.1 percent of Iowa's total private-sector employment. Over one-fifth (21.2 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Iowa depend on exports for their jobs (2009 data latest available).
Exports Sustain Thousands of Iowa Businesses
A total of 2,447 companies exported from Iowa locations in 2009. Of those, 2,008 (82 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
Small and medium-sized firms generated over one-quarter (27 percent) of Iowa's total exports of merchandise in 2009.
Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in Iowa
In 2009, foreign-controlled companies employed 46,000 Iowa workers. Major sources of foreign investment in Iowa in 2009 included the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, and Germany.
Foreign investment in Iowa was responsible for 3.7 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2009.
Iowa Depends on World Markets
Iowa's export shipments of merchandise in 2010 totaled $10.9 billion.
The state's largest market was Canada. Iowa posted merchandise exports of $3.4 billion to Canada in 2010, 32 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Canada was followed by Mexico ($1.8 billion), Japan ($852 million), China ($599 million), and Germany ($479 million).
The state's largest merchandise export category is machinery manufactures, which accounted for $2.9 billion of Iowa's total merchandise exports in 2010. Other top merchandise exports are processed foods ($2.5 billion), agricultural products ($976 million), chemicals manufactures ($932 million), and transportation equipment ($704 million).
Iowa's Metropolitan Exports
In 2009, the metropolitan area of Des Moines-West Des Moines exported $782 million in merchandise, 13.0 percent of Iowa's total merchandise exports. Other major metropolitan areas in Iowa that exported in 2009 included Cedar Rapids ($735 million), Iowa City ($263 million), and Waterloo-Cedar Falls ($186 million). Three major metropolitan area exporters in Iowa included some counties from neighboring states. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (including some parts of Illinois) exported $3.5 billion, while Omaha-Council Bluffs (including some parts of Nebraska) exported $1.9 billion, and Sioux City (including some parts of Nebraska and South Dakota) exported $1.2 billion in merchandise in 2009.
Exports Support Jobs
Note: Export-related employment data shown do not include manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs involved in the export of non-manufactured goods, such as farm products, minerals, and services sold to foreign buyers. Indirect exports exclude imported items. The complete 2009 export-related employment series is available on our Export Related Jobs pages. Additional information on methodology used in the export-related employment series can be found in the U.S. Census Bureau's publication Exports from Manufacturing Establishments: 2009.
Source: State Export-Related Employment Project, International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census.
Exports Sustain Businesses
Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Exporter Database.
Foreign Investment
Note: All figures exclude employment in banks affiliated with foreign companies.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Trade with World Markets
Source: Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division.
Caution: The Origin of Movement series allocates exports to states based on transportation origin, i.e., the state from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a state should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement state export figures.
Metropolitan Exports
Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Metropolitan Export Series.
Caution: The Origin of Movement zip-based series allocates exports to metropolitan areas based on transportation origin, i.e., the metropolitan area from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a metropolitan area should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement zip-based export figures.
Prepared by the Office of Trade and Industry Information, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Data updated December 5, 2011.
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