December 2011
Exports Support Jobs for New Mexico Workers
Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 1.7 percent of New Mexico's total private-sector employment. One-seventh (13.7 percent) of all manufacturing workers in New Mexico depend on exports for their jobs (2009 data latest available).
Exports Sustain Hundreds of New Mexico Businesses
A total of 921 companies exported from New Mexico locations in 2009. Of those, 777 (84 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
Small and medium-sized firms generated over two-fifths (46 percent) of New Mexico's total exports of merchandise in 2009.
Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in New Mexico
In 2009, foreign-controlled companies employed 16,000 New Mexico workers. Major sources of foreign investment in New Mexico in 2009 included Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France.
Foreign investment in New Mexico was responsible for 2.6 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2009.
New Mexico Depends on World Markets
New Mexico's export shipments of merchandise in 2010 totaled $1.5 billion.
The state's largest market was Mexico. New Mexico posted merchandise exports of $429 million to Mexico in 2010, 28 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Mexico was followed by Canada ($284 million), Germany ($112 million), China ($72 million), and Japan ($62 million).
The state's largest merchandise export category is computers and electronic products, which accounted for $517 million of New Mexico's total merchandise exports in 2010. Other top merchandise exports are machinery manufactures ($185 million), fabricated metal manufactures ($134 million), transportation equipment ($132 million), and processed foods ($105 million).
New Mexico's Metropolitan Exports
In 2009, the metropolitan area of Las Cruces exported $521 million in merchandise, 41.8 percent of New Mexico's total merchandise exports. Other major metropolitan areas in New Mexico that exported in 2009 included Albuquerque ($358 million), Santa Fe ($14 million), and Farmington ($14 million).
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.
Click here to return to the list of all the state "Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment" reports.