December 2011
Exports Support Jobs for South Dakota's Workers
Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 2.8 percent of South Dakota's total private-sector employment. Over one-seventh (14.5 percent) of all manufacturing workers in South Dakota depend on exports for their jobs (2009 data latest available).
Exports Sustain Hundreds of South Dakota Businesses
A total of 594 companies exported from South Dakota locations in 2009. Of those, 483 (81 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
Small and medium-sized firms generated one-fifth (20 percent) of South Dakota's total exports of merchandise in 2009.
Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in South Dakota
In 2009, foreign-controlled companies employed 7,400 South Dakota workers. In 2009, foreign-controlled companies employed 10,900 North Dakota workers. Major sources of foreign investment in North Dakota in 2009 included Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Foreign investment in South Dakota was responsible for 2.2 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2009.
South Dakota Depends on World Markets
South Dakota's export shipments of merchandise in 2010 totaled $1.3 billion.
The state's largest market was Canada. South Dakota posted merchandise exports of $416 million to Canada in 2010, 33 percent of the state’s total merchandise exports. Canada was followed by Mexico ($340 million), Germany ($54 million), Japan ($52 million), and China ($43 million).
The state's largest merchandise export category is processed foods, which accounted for $425 million of South Dakota's total merchandise exports in 2010. Other top merchandise exports are machinery manufactures ($203 million), transportation equipment ($120 million), beverage and tobacco products ($103 million), and computers and electronic products ($89 million).
South Dakota's Metropolitan Exports
In 2009, the metropolitan area of Sioux Falls exported $203 million in merchandise, 12.9 percent of South Dakota's total merchandise exports. The metropolitan area of Rapid City also exported $31 million in merchandise in 2009. Another metropolitan area exporter that included some counties of South Dakota was Sioux City (including some counties in Iowa and Nebraska as well) which 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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