Ohio Trade Facts
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In 2018, Ohio exported a record $54.4 billion of Made-in-America goods to the world. In 2016, exports from Ohio supported an estimated 249 thousand jobs.
Exports from Ohio and Jobs
- Ohio was the 9th largest state exporter of goods in 2018.
- In 2018, Ohio goods exports were $54.4 billion, an increase of 19 percent ($8.8 billion) from its export level in 2008.
- Goods exports accounted for 8.0 percent of Ohio GDP in 2018.
- Ohio goods exports in 2016 (latest year available) supported an estimated 249 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 Ohio and Jobs
- In 2018, Ohio exported $50.6 billion of manufactured products.
- Ohio exports of manufactured products supported an estimated 228 thousand jobs in 2016.
- The state's largest manufacturing export category is transportation equipment, which accounted for $16.7 billion of Ohio's total goods exports in 2018.
- Other top manufacturing exports are chemicals ($7.0 billion), machinery, except electrical ($6.1 billion), computer & electronic products ($3.9 billion), and other fabricated metal products ($2.9 billion).
Exports Sustain Thousands of Ohio Businesses many of which are SMEs
- A total of 15,729 companies exported from Ohio locations in 2016 (latest year available). Of those, 13,986 (89 percent) were small and medium sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
- Small and medium-sized firms generated 22.9 percent of Ohio's total exports of goods in 2016.
Ohio Depends on World Markets
- The state’s largest market was Canada. Ohio exported $21.2 billion in goods to Canada in 2018, representing 39 percent of the state’s total goods exports.
- Canada was followed by Mexico ($6.9 billion), China ($3.6 billion), United Kingdom ($2.2 billion), and Japan ($1.7 billion).
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Ohio’s exports (2018 value) to major world areas included:
|
|
2018 Value |
|
APEC |
$39.0 billion |
|
Asia |
$12.3 billion |
|
European Union |
$8.8 billion |
|
South/Central America and Caribbean |
$3.1 billion |
|
Sub-Saharan Africa |
$275 million |
- 59 percent of Ohio’s exports ($31.9 billion) go to current FTA partners.
Agriculture in Ohio depends on Exports
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Ohio is the country’s 12th largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $3.6 billion 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:
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|
2017 Value |
2017 State Rank |
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soybeans |
$1.3 billion |
7 |
|
corn |
$342 million |
9 |
|
other plant products |
$330 million |
13 |
|
feeds and other feed grains |
$282 million |
10 |
|
soybean meal |
$236 million |
7 |
International Investment Creates Jobs in Ohio
- In 2015 (latest data available), foreign-controlled companies employed 267,500 Ohio workers. Major sources of foreign investment in Ohio included Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany.
- Foreign investment in Ohio was responsible for 5.5 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2015.
Ohio’s Major Metropolitan Areas Benefit from Exporting
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In 2017 (latest data available), the following metropolitan areas in Ohio recorded goods exports: Cincinnati ($28.6 billion), Cleveland ($8.9 billion), Columbus ($6 billion), Toledo ($3.4 billion), Dayton ($3.3 billion), Akron ($2.7 billion), Youngstown ($1.2 billion), Huntington ($1.1 billion), Canton ($1 billion), Wheeling ($480.4 million), Lima ($442.1 million), Mansfield ($313.3 million), Springfield ($256 million), Weirton ($175.8 million).
1Estimates 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.
