
Arizona ranks among America’s 30 biggest exporters by state behind front-runners including Texas, California, New York and Washington states. The value of Arizona’s exports equals 1.4% of United States’ overall exported products for 2020.
Based on statistics from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Arizona’s exported products represent 5.3% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2020 ($372.5 billion in current dollars based on BEA statistics).
Given Arizona’s population of 7.425 million people, its total $19.7 billion in 2020 exports translates to roughly $2,700 for every resident in the Grand Canyon State.
Arizona’s unemployment rate was 6.9% at February 2021, up from 4.9% one year earlier per YCharts.
Arizona’s Top 10 Exports
Top 10
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Arizona global shipments during 2020. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Arizona.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Aircraft including engines, parts: US$1.9 billion (9.5% of Arizona’s total exports)
- Copper ores, concentrates: $1.3 billion (6.6%)
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $790 million (4%)
- Integrated circuits (excluding processors/controllers): $632 million (3.2%)
- Bombs, mines: $434 million (2.2%)
- Office machine parts and accessories: $372 million (1.9%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $365 million (1.8%)
- Semiconductor devices excluding photovoltaic cells: $333 million (1.7%)
- Miscellaneous medications: $280 million (1.4%)
- Medical, surgical or veterinarian instruments and appliances: $273 million (1.4%)
Arizona’s top 10 exports accounted for 33.7% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Medical, surgical or veterinarian instruments and appliances was the sole grower among Arizona’s top 10 export categories via a 96.4% gain from 2019 to 2020.
Leading the decliners year over year were Arizona’s exported mines (down -45.7%), modems including similar reception or transmission devices (down -38%), aircraft including engines and other parts (down -30.1%) then integrated circuits excluding processors and controllers (down -28%).
More Key Facts
Arizona slipped into an overall -$6 million deficit exporting and importing products during 2020. That dollar amount reflects a 216.8% expansion year-over-year from $1.9 million in red ink for 2019.
Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.
Below are Arizona’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2020.
- Large aircraft: $1.5 billion (6% of Arizona’s total imports)
- Machinery for making semi-conductors: $729 million (2.8%)
- Tomatoes (fresh/chilled): $651 million (2.5%)
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $621 million (2.4%)
- Integrated circuits (excluding processors/controllers): $592 million (2.3%)
- Solar power semi-conductors, photovoltaic cells: $536 million (2.1%)
- Peppers (fresh/chilled): $450 million (1.8%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $438 million (1.7%)
- Wirings (vehicle, aircraft): $363 million (1.4%)
- Electric static converters: $361 million (1.4%)
Arizona has highly negative net exports in the international trade of large aircraft, machinery for making semi-conductors, tomatoes and peppers. In turn, these cashflows indicate Arizona’s competitive disadvantages under these product categories.
Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased roughly two-thirds (69.2%) worth of the total value of products exported from Arizona during 2020.
- Mexico $7 billion (35.5% of Arizona’s total exports)
- Canada $1.9 billion (9.6%)
- China $882 million (4.5%)
- Netherlands $689 million (3.5%)
- Japan $646 million (3.3%)
- United Kingdom $599 million (3%)
- Singapore $541 million (2.7%)
- Taiwan $513 million (2.6%)
- France $450 million (2.3%)
- Germany $442 million (2.2%)
Arizona’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) purchased 45.1% of the overall value of exported goods from the Copper State.
Companies
Arizona Export Companies
Seventeen of Arizona-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are listed below.
- Microchip Technology (semiconductors)
- Amkor Technology (semiconductor packaging, testing)
- ON Semiconductor (semiconductors, custom devices)
- First Solar (solar panels, power plants)
- Swift Transportation (truckload shipping carrier)
- Insight Enterprises (global technologies)
- Freeport-McMoRan (copper, gold, petroleum)
- Avnet (electronic components)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Arizona’s capital is Phoenix, a city nicknamed “Valley of the Sun” or simply “The Valley”.
See also America’s Top 20 Export States, United States Top 10 Exports and Top United States Trade Balances
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, Arizona GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on April 6, 2021
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on April 6, 2021
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 6, 2021
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2017 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on April 6, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 6, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 6, 2021
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade (State by 6-Digit HS Code). Accessed on April 6, 2021
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Arizona. Accessed on April 6, 2021
Wikipedia, Arizona. Accessed on April 6, 2021
Wikipedia, List of Arizona Companies. Accessed on April 6, 2021
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on April 6, 2021
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Phoenix, United States. Accessed on April 6, 2021
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on April 6, 2021