Utah Exports & Foreign Investment
In 2023, Utah exported not a record $17.4 billion of goods to the world. In 2021, exports from Utah supported an estimated 50 thousand jobs.
Exports from Utah and Jobs
- Utah was the 28th largest state exporter of goods in 2023.
- In 2023, Utah goods exports were $17.4 billion, an increase of 8 percent ($1.3 billion) from its export level in 2013 (latest data available).
- Goods exports accounted for 6.4 percent of Utah GDP in 2023 (latest data available).
- Utah goods exports in 2021 (latest data available) supported an estimated 50 thousand jobs. Nationally, jobs supported by goods exports pay up to an estimated 18 percent above the national average.
Manufacturing Exports from Utah and Jobs
- In 2023, Utah exported $16.5 billion of manufactured products.
- Utah exports of manufactured products supported an estimated 48 thousand jobs in 2021 (latest data available).
- The state's largest manufacturing export category is primary metal manufacturing, which accounted for $7.2 billion of Utah's total goods exports in 2023.
- Other top manufacturing exports are computer and electronic products ($2.1 billion), chemicals ($1.5 billion), miscellaneous manufactured commodities ($1.4 billion), and transportation equipment ($1.1 billion).
Exports Sustain Thousands of Utah Businesses many of which are SMEs
- A total of 3,746 companies exported from Utah locations in 2022 (latest data available). Of those, 3,185 (85 percent) were small and medium sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
- Small and medium-sized firms generated 60.7 percent of Utah's total exports of goods in 2022.
Utah Depends on World Markets
- The state’s largest market was United Kingdom. Utah exported $7.2 billion in goods to United Kingdom in 2023, representing 41 percent of the state’s total goods exports.
- United Kingdom was followed by Canada ($1.7 billion), Mexico ($1.3 billion), China ($1.2 billion), and Japan ($821 million).
- Utah’s exports to major world areas included:
|
|
2023 Value |
|
APEC |
$7.0 billion |
|
Asia |
$3.9 billion |
|
European Union |
$2.1 billion |
|
South/Central America and Caribbean |
$561 million |
|
Sub-Saharan Africa |
$88 million |
- 25 percent of Utah’s goods exports ($4.4 billion) in 2023 went to current FTA partners.
Agriculture in Utah depends on Exports
- Utah is the country’s 38th largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $600 million in domestic agricultural exports abroad in 2022 (latest data available according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture).[1]
- Top Agricultural exports were:
|
|
2022 Value |
2022 State Rank |
|
other plant products |
$135 million |
33 |
|
dairy products |
$92 million |
22 |
|
pork |
$89 million |
14 |
|
beef and veal |
$86 million |
26 |
|
feeds and other feed grains |
$56 million |
32 |
International Investment Creates Jobs in Utah
- In 2021 (latest data available), foreign-controlled companies employed 62,800 Utah workers. Major sources of foreign investment in Utah included France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
- Foreign investment in Utah was responsible for 4.5 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2021.
Utah’s Major Metropolitan Areas Benefit from Exporting
In 2022 (latest data available), the following metropolitan areas in Utah recorded goods exports: Salt Lake City ($12.3 billion), Ogden-Clearfield ($1.8 billion), Provo-Orem ($1.3 billion), Logan ($1.1 billion), and St. George ($99.2 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.
