
Florida mostly occupies a peninsula in the southeastern-most region of the continental United States separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
Florida is among America’s top 10 biggest exporters by state well behind front-runners Texas, California, New York and Washington state. The value of Florida’s exports equals 3.9% of the overall value for the United States’ overall exported products for 2020.
Based on statistics from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Florida’s exported products represent 4.1% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2019 ($1.107 trillion in current dollars based on BEA statistics).
Given Florida’s population of 21.733 million people, its total $56 billion in 2020 exports translates to roughly $2,100 for every resident in the Sunshine State.
Florida’s unemployment rate was 4.7% in February 2021 up from 2.8% at January 2020, per YCharts.
Florida’s Top 10 Exports
Top 10
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Florida global shipments during 2020. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Florida.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Aircraft including engines, parts: US$4.9 billion (10.7% of Florida’s total exports)
- Cell phones: $2.3 billion (4.9%)
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $1.1 billion (2.4%)
- Small portable digital computers: $938 million (2%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $882 million (1.9%)
- Mineral or chemical fertilizers: $628 million (1.4%)
- Gold (unwrought): $617 million (1.3%)
- Gas turbine parts: $552 million (1.2%)
- Medical/surgical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $519 million (1.1%)
- Ammonium dihydrogenorthophosphate: $517 million (1.1%)
Florida’s top 10 exports accounted for over a quarter (28%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Three among Florida’s top 10 export categories increased from 2019 to 2020 led by small portable digital computers, up by 19.3%. In second place for improving export sales was processors and controllers for integrated circuits thanks to a 16.8% increase trailed by mineral or chemical fertilizers via a 2.8% gain.
Leading decliners among Florida top 10 export products were gold (down -51%) and aircraft including engines and other parts (down -34.9%).
More Key Facts
Overall, Florida incurred a -$30.7 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2020. That dollar amount reflects an 19.2% year-over-year increase from -$25.7 billion in red ink in 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 Florida’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2020.
- Nucleic acids, salts: $3.6 billion (4.8% of Florida’s total imports)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $3.3 billion (4.4%)
- Cell phones: $2.7 billion (3.6%)
- Gold (unwrought): $2 billion (2.7%)
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $1.6 billion (2.1%)
- Pacific salmon: $1.2 billion (1.6%)
- Bananas: $995 million (1.3%)
- Cigars, cigarillos: $968 million (1.3%)
- Medium-size aircraft: $881 million (1.2%)
- Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $827 million (1.1%)
Historically, Florida has incurred high negative net exports in the international trade of automobiles. In turn, these cashflows indicate Florida’s competitive disadvantages under the automobiles-related product category showing the strong impact of foreign-made automotive goods on Florida’s global balance sheet}
Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 43.7% worth of the total value of products exported from Florida during 2020.
- Brazil $3.5 billion (7.7% of Florida’s total exports)
- Canada $3.4 billion (7.5%)
- Mexico $2.6 billion (5.8%)
- United Kingdom $1.8 billion (4%)
- Colombia $1.8 billion (4%)
- Dominican Republic $1.5 billion (3.3%)
- Chile $1.5 billion (3.2%)
- Germany $1.3 billion (2.8%)
- Peru $1.3 billion (2.7%)
- China $1.2 billion (2.7%)
Florida’s top trade partners in South America (Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru) account for 17.6% of the overall value of exported goods from the Sunshine State. This compares with 13.3% of Floridian shipments consumed by North American trade partners, Mexico and Canada.
Companies
Florida Export Companies
Thirty-five of Florida-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.
- Dycom Industries (telecommunications)
- Tupperware Brands Corp (household goods, cosmetics, personal care)
- Platform Specialty Products Corp (chemicals)
- B/E Aerospace (aircraft-related products)
- Citrix Systems (software, cloud computing technologies)
- Roper Technologies (systems, controls, instruments)
- Watsco (air conditioning, heating, refrigeration-related goods)
- MasTec (pipelines, wireless communications, infrastructure)
- Harris Corp (communication, electronic, space, intelligence systems)
- Ryder (transportation/supply chain management goods)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Florida’s capital is Tallahassee, a city nicknamed “Tally”.
See also America’s Top 20 Export States, United States Top 10 Exports and Top United States Trade Balances
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, Florida GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on March 26, 2021
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on March 26, 2021
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 26, 2021
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2017 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on March 26, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 26, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 26, 2021
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade (State by 6-Digit HS Code). Accessed on March 26, 2021
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Florida. Accessed on March 26, 2021
Wikipedia, Florida. Accessed on March 26, 2021
Wikipedia, List of Florida Companies. Accessed on March 26, 2021
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on March 26, 2021
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Tallahassee, United States. Accessed on March 26, 2021
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on March 26, 2021