Connecticut Trade Facts
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In 2018, Connecticut exported a record $17.4 billion of Made-in-America goods to the world. In 2016, exports from Connecticut supported an estimated 65 thousand jobs.
Exports from Connecticut and Jobs
- Connecticut was the 25th largest state exporter of goods in 2018.
- In 2018, Connecticut goods exports were $17.4 billion, an increase of 13 percent ($2.0 billion) from its export level in 2008.
- Goods exports accounted for 6.3 percent of Connecticut GDP in 2018.
- Connecticut goods exports in 2016 (latest year available) supported an estimated 65 thousand jobs. Nationally, jobs supported by goods exports pay up to an estimated 18 percent above the national average.
Made-in-America Manufacturing Exports from Connecticut and Jobs
- In 2018, Connecticut exported $16.1 billion of manufactured products.
- Connecticut exports of manufactured products supported an estimated 64 thousand jobs in 2016.
- The state's largest manufacturing export category is transportation equipment, which accounted for $7.7 billion of Connecticut's total goods exports in 2018.
- Other top manufacturing exports are machinery, except electrical ($2.3 billion), computer & electronic products ($1.3 billion), chemicals ($1.2 billion), and electrical equipment, appliances & components ($919 million).
Exports Sustain Thousands of Connecticut Businesses many of which are SMEs
- A total of 5,656 companies exported from Connecticut locations in 2016 (latest year available). Of those, 4,984 (88 percent) were small and medium sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
- Small and medium-sized firms generated 33.1 percent of Connecticut's total exports of goods in 2016.
Connecticut Depends on World Markets
- The state’s largest market was France. Connecticut exported $3.2 billion in goods to France in 2018, representing 18 percent of the state’s total goods exports.
- France was followed by Germany ($2.3 billion), Canada ($2.0 billion), United Kingdom ($1.5 billion), and Mexico ($948 million).
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Connecticut’s exports (2018 values) to major world areas included:
|
|
2018 Value |
|
APEC |
$6.6 billion |
|
Asia |
$4.2 billion |
|
European Union |
$8.8 billion |
|
South/Central America and Caribbean |
$654 million |
|
Sub-Saharan Africa |
$73 million |
- 27 percent of Connecticut’s exports ($4.6 billion) go to current FTA partners.
Agriculture in Connecticut depends on Exports
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Connecticut is the country’s 43rd largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $248 million in domestic agricultural exports abroad in 2017 (latest data available according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture).1
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Top Agricultural exports (2017 value) were:
|
|
2017 Value |
2017 State Rank |
|
other plant products |
$201 million |
22 |
|
other livestock products |
$20 million |
38 |
|
dairy products |
$11 million |
34 |
|
other poultry products |
$6 million |
38 |
|
fruits, fresh |
$4 million |
25 |
International Investment Creates Jobs in Connecticut
- In 2015 (latest data available), foreign-controlled companies employed 105,300 Connecticut workers. Major sources of foreign investment in Connecticut included the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany.
- Foreign investment in Connecticut was responsible for 7.1 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2015.
Connecticut’s Major Metropolitan Areas Benefit from Exporting
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In 2017 (latest data available), the following metropolitan areas in Connecticut recorded goods exports: Hartford ($10.7 billion), Bridgeport ($8.3 billion), New Haven ($1.9 billion), Norwich ($254.8 million).
[1] Estimates of state exports of agricultural products by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and goods exports by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce are based on different methodologies and are not directly comparable.
