Wisconsin exports increased by 4.7% in 2012, to $23.1 billion, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
Wisconsin now ranks 18th among the 50 states in exports.
“The increase in exports of Wisconsin products is great news for Wisconsin’s economy,” said Reed Hall, CEO and secretary of WEDC. “Wisconsin’s innovative technologies and our expertise in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors lead customers worldwide to procure products made in Wisconsin.”
With 96% of the world’s population outside the U.S. and 1 billion people expected to join the global middle class in the next decade, Lora Klenke, vice president of WEDC’s international business development, said Wisconsin businesses are taking advantage of these opportunities around the world to grow.
The top export markets for Wisconsin in 2012 were Canada, Mexico, China, Australia, and Japan. Exports to Canada accounted for 32.9% of the state’s total exports, an increase of 6.6% over 2011 to $7.6 billion.
Exports to Mexico, Wisconsin’s second largest export market, grew by 8.9% to $2.2 billion.
Exports to China increased by 11.8% to $1.5 billion, exports to Australia increased by 13.5% to $865.5 million, and exports to Japan grew by 17.2% to $862.5 million.
According to Klenke, Canada continues to recover from its less dramatic recession following the U.S. debt crisis, while exports to Mexico increased despite the ongoing security issues in the northern and western parts of the country. “Mexico’s new president, Enrique Peña Nieto, began his term with an aggressive economic growth plan,” she noted.
Wisconsin exports to Europe declined by 5.2% in 2011, to $4.1 billion, because of the debt crisis, economic slowdown, and resulting contraction of GDP in the largest economies in the European Union. However, industrial machinery and agricultural exports were Wisconsin’s two largest export categories, with both sectors increasing in 2012.
Industrial machinery exports, which accounted for 31.6% of all state exports, increased 6.3% over 2011.
Wisconsin set a record for agricultural exports in 2012, sending over $2.9 billion worth of agricultural products to over 149 countries, a 3% increase over 2011. Agricultural products account for 12.5% of total state exports; Wisconsin now ranks 13th overall for agricultural exports, up from 16th compared to the same time period in 2011.
Electrical machinery exports, the state’s third-largest export product category, declined by 6.7%.
