Nicknamed “The Copper State” and “The Grand Canyon State” located in America’s southwestern region, Arizona shipped US$27.2 billion worth of exported products around the globe in 2022.

That dollar amount reflects an 8.9% gain from $25 billion four years earlier in 2019.

Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Arizona increased by 12.5% compared to $24.2 billion for 2021.

Arizona ranks among America’s 25 most lucrative exporters by state behind front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York State and Illinois. The value of Arizona’s exports equals 1.3% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2022, down from 1.4% one year prior.

Based on research from Statista, Arizona’s exported products represent 7.6% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($356.4 billion in current dollars based on BEA statistics).

Given Arizona’s population of 7.359 million people, its total $27.2 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $3,700 for every resident in the Grand Canyon State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $3,300 per capita one year earlier in 2021.

Arizona’s unemployment rate was 3.5% in March 2023, down from 6.9% at February 2022 per YCharts.

Arizona’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Arizona global shipments during 2022. 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.

1. Civilian aircraft, engines or other parts: US$3.8 billion (13.9% of Arizona’s exports)
2. Copper ores, concentrates: $1.74 billion (6.4%)
3. Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $1.44 billion (5.3%)
4. Miscellaneous electronic integrated circuits: $918.9 million (3.4%)
5. Natural gas (gaseous): $731.2 million (2.7%)
6. Medical, dental or veterinarian instruments: $548.6 million (2%)
7. Parts for electrical circuits, boards, panels: $503.8 million (1.9%)
8. Miscellaneous semi-conductor devices: $502.9 million (1.8%)
9. Bombs, mines: $446.4 million (1.6%)
10. Semi-conductor making machinery parts, accessories: $417.1 million (1.5%)

Arizona’s top 10 exports accounted for about two-fifths (40.5%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

Natural gas in gaseous state was the strongest grower among Arizona’s top 10 export categories via a 64.7% advance from 2021 to 2022.

Robust growth was also posted by Arizona’s exports of parts and accessories for machinery used to manufacture semiconductors (up 32.5% from 2021), miscellaneous electronic integrated circuits (up 30.4%) then bombs and mines (up 26.4%).

The lone year-over-year decliner was for Arizona’s exports of bombs and mines. That product category dropped -17.5% from international sales during 2021.

More Key Facts about Arizona’s International Trade

Arizona slipped into an overall -$5.87 billion deficit from exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 53.3% uptick from -$3.83 billion in red ink for 2021.

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 2022.

1. Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): US$1.2 billion (3.5% of Arizona’s imports)
2. Tomatoes (fresh/chilled): $821.8 million (2.5%)
3. Miscellaneous electronic integrated circuits: $791.8 million (2.4%)
4. Machinery for making semi-conductors: $748.6 million (2.3%)
5. Static converters, power supplies: $579.7 million (1.8%)
6. Insulated wiring (for vehicles, ships, aircraft): $546.7 million (1.7%)
7. Electrical circuits, boards, panels: $500.7 million (1.5%)
8. Solar power semi-conductors, photovoltaic cells: $496.8 million (1.5%)
9. Peppers (fresh/chilled): $486 million (1.5%)
10. Fresh grapes: $475.9 million (1.4%)

Arizona has negative net exports in the international trade of machinery for making semi-conductors, tomatoes, peppers and fresh grapes. In turn, these cashflows indicate Arizona’s competitive disadvantages under these product categories.

Arizona’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased over two-thirds (69.7%) worth of the total value of products exported from Arizona during 2022.

1. Mexico: US$8.7 billion (32.1% of Arizona’s exports)
2. Canada: $2.55 billion (9.4%)
3. mainland China: $1.49 billion (5.5%)
4. Netherlands: $1.14 billion (4.2%)
5. Malaysia: $959.9 million (3.5%)
6. Singapore: $954.1 million (3.5%)
7. Japan: $877.9 million (3.2%)
8. United Kingdom: $790.3 million (2.9%)
9. Taiwan: $764.6 million (2.8%)
10. Ireland: $696.2 million (2.6%)

Arizona’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) purchased 41.5% of the overall value of goods exported from the Copper State.

In second place were leading importers in Asia (mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan). That cohort accounted for 18.5% of Arizona’s export sales in 2022.

Arizonan 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.

• Amkor Technology (semiconductor packaging, testing)
• Avnet (electronic components)
• First Solar (solar panels, power plants)
• Freeport-McMoRan (copper, gold, petroleum)
• Insight Enterprises (global technologies)
• Microchip Technology (semiconductors)
• ON Semiconductor (semiconductors, custom devices)
• Swift Transportation (truckload shipping carrier)

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 Nevada’s Top 10 Exports, Idaho’s Top 10 Exports, Kentucky’s Top 10 Exports, Iowa’s Top 10 Exports and Maryland’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, Arizona GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on May 1, 2023

FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on May 1, 2023

Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 1, 2023

GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2019 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on May 1, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 1, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 1, 2023

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Arizona. Accessed on May 1, 2023

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on May 1, 2023

Wikipedia, Arizona. Accessed on May 1, 2023

Wikipedia, List of Arizona Companies. Accessed on May 1, 2023

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on May 1, 2023

World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Phoenix, United States. Accessed on May 1, 2023

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on May 1, 2023