Michigan

Michigan Exports and Foreign Investment

In 2024, Michigan exported $61.6 billion of goods to the world. In 2022, exports from Michigan supported an estimated 226 thousand jobs (latest data available).

Exports from Michigan and Jobs

• Michigan was the 7th largest state exporter of goods in 2024.
• In 2024, Michigan goods exports were $61.6 billion, an increase of 7 percent ($4.0 billion) from its export level in 2014.
• Goods exports accounted for 9.8 percent of Michigan GDP in 2023 (latest data available).
• Michigan goods exports in 2022 supported an estimated 226 thousand jobs (latest data available). Nationally, jobs supported by goods exports pay up to an estimated 18 percent above the national average.

Manufacturing Exports from Michigan and Jobs

• In 2024, Michigan exported $58.9 billion of manufactured products.
• Michigan exports of manufactured products supported an estimated 209 thousand jobs in 2022 (latest data available).
• The state's largest manufacturing export category is transportation equipment, which accounted for $26.6 billion of Michigan's total goods exports in 2024.
• Other top manufacturing exports are machinery, except electrical ($5.5 billion), chemicals ($5.2 billion), electrical equipment, appliances & components ($4.5 billion), and computer & electronic products ($3.2 billion).

Exports Sustain Thousands of Michigan Businesses many of which are SMEs

• A total of 14,297 companies exported from Michigan locations in 2022 (latest data available). Of those, 12,699 (89 percent) were small and medium sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
• Small and medium-sized firms generated 21.3 percent of Michigan's total exports of goods in 2022.

Michigan Depends on World Markets

• The state’s largest market was Canada. Michigan exported $23.3 billion in goods to Canada in 2024, representing 38 percent of the state’s total goods exports.
• Canada was followed by Mexico ($17.1 billion), China ($2.1 billion), Germany ($1.9 billion), and Japan ($1.5 billion).
• Michigan’s exports to major world areas included:

 

• 72 percent of Michigan’s goods exports ($44.1 billion) in 2024 went to current FTA partners.  

Agriculture in Michigan depends on Exports

Michigan is the country’s 16th largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $4.3 billion in domestic agricultural exports abroad in 2022 (latest data available according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture).

Top Agricultural exports were:

	2022 Value	2022 State Rank
other plant products	$904 million	4
soybeans	$878 million	13
dairy products	$480 million	6
corn	$409 million	12
feeds and other feed grains	$268 million	13

International Investment Creates Jobs in Michigan

• In 2022 (latest data available), foreign-controlled companies employed 326,800 Michigan workers. Major sources of foreign investment in Michigan included Germany, Japan and Canada.
• Foreign investment in Michigan was responsible for 8.6 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2022.

Michigan’s Major Metropolitan Areas Benefit from Exporting
In 2023 (latest data available), the following metropolitan areas in Michigan recorded goods exports: South Bend-Mishawaka ($804.6 million), Ann Arbor ($1.2 billion), Battle Creek ($903.8 million), Bay City ($276.6 million), Detroit-Warren-Dearborn ($45.6 billion), Flint ($1 billion), Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood ($6.3 billion), Jackson ($526.4 million), Kalamazoo-Portage ($2.5 billion), Lansing-East Lansing ($1.5 billion), Midland ($2 billion), Monroe ($514.9 million), Muskegon-Norton Shores ($1.1 billion), Niles ($378.7 million), Saginaw ($1.7 billion), and Traverse City ($252.6 million).