That dollar amount reflects a 6.4% increase over the 4-year period starting with $84.7 billion for 2018.
Year over year, the overall value of exports from New York accelerated by 37.4% compared to $65.6 billion during 2020.
Looking ahead to 2022, the value of New York’s exports from January to August 2022 totaled $69.8 billion. The dollar sum for exports from New York is projected to be an annualized $104.7 billion, advancing by 16.1% versus $90.1 billion for 2021.
New York is America’s third-biggest exporter by state behind Texas and California. The value of New York’s exports equals 5.1% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2021.
Based on statistics from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), New York’s exported products represent an estimated 4.9% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2021 ($1.854 trillion in in current dollars based on BEA statistics).
Given New York’s population of 19.836 million people, its total $90.1 billion in 2021 exported products translates to roughly $4,500 for every resident in The Empire State. That dollar metric eclipses the average $3,200 per capita one year earlier during 2020.
New York’s unemployment rate was 6.6% in August 2022, down from 8.9% in February 2021 per YCharts.
New York’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in New York global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from New York state.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Gold (unwrought): US$14.7 billion (16.3% of New York’s total exports)
- Diamonds (unmounted): $9.6 billion (10.6%)
- Hand-drawn paintings, drawings: $4.5 billion (5%)
- Jewelry articles clad in precious metal: $3.9 billion (4.3%)
- Rubies, sapphires, emeralds: $1.3 billion (1.4%)
- Silver, unwrought: $1.137 billion (1.3%)
- Parts of assembly machinery: $1.135 billion (1.3%)
- Aircraft including engines, parts: $1.06 billion (1.2%)
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $1.01 billion (1.1%)
- Original sculptures, statues: $911.8 billion (1%)
New York’s top 10 exports represent 43.4% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
The fastest-growing exports from New York in 2021 were parts of assembly machinery via a 174% gain, ahead of unwrought gold (up 154.4% from 2020), rubies or sapphires and emeralds (up 73.4%), then unwrought silver (up 73.4%) and unmounted diamonds (up 44.5%).
The lone decliner among New York’s top 10 export products was the aircraft including engines and parts. That product category fell by -1.1% compared to 2020.
More Key Facts about New York’s International Trade
Overall, New York incurred a -$63.8 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2021. That dollar amount reflects a -30.7% year-over-year decrease from -$91.9 billion in red ink one year earlier for 2020.
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 New York’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2021.
- Diamonds (unmounted): $18.4 billion (12% of New York’s total imports)
- Miscellaneous precious metal or metal clad items: $6.5 billion (4.2%)
- Jewelry articles clad in precious metal: $5.4 billion (3.5%)
- Hand-drawn paintings, drawings: $3.7 billion (2.4%)
- Gold (unwrought): $2.7 billion (1.8%)
- Gold (semi-manufactured form): $2.06 billion (1.3%)
- Odiferous substance mixtures: $2.04 billion (1.3%)
- Miscellaneous coins: $1.9 billion (1.3%)
- Silver, unwrought: $1.54 billion (1%)
- Miscellaneous medicines in dosage: $1.33 billion (0.9%)
New York has highly negative net exports in the international trade of miscellaneous precious metal or metal clad items and diamonds. In turn, these cashflows indicate New York’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories on New York state’s global balance sheet.
New York’s Major Trading Partners
The following list shows the top 10 trade partners that purchased 71.3% worth of the total value of products exported from New York during 2021.
- Canada: $21.7 billion (24.1% of New York’s total exports)
- Switzerland: $11.6 billion (12.8%)
- Hong Kong: $7.2 billion (8%)
- United Kingdom: $3.9 billion (4.3%)
- India: $3.8 billion (4.2%)
- China: $3.61 billion (4%)
- Germany: $3.59 billion (4%)
- Israel: $3.58 billion (4%)
- Mexico: $2.94 billion (3.3%)
- Belgium: $2.4 billion (2.7%)
New York’s top trade partners in North America, namely Canada and Mexico, account for over one quarter (27.4%) of the overall value of exported goods from the Empire State.
This compares with 23.9% from the European countries listed above (Switzerland, UK, Germany and Belgium).
Asian countries among the top 10 customers (Hong Kong, India, mainland China and Israel) for New York’s exports bought 20.1% worth of New York’s total.
New York Export Companies
Forty-five of corporations headquartered in New York state rank among Forbes Global 2000 for 2020. Selected examples are shown below.
- Verizon Communications (telecommunications)
- Pfizer Inc (pharmaceuticals)
- Philip Morris International (cigarettes, other tobacco products)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (pharmaceuticals)
- Colgate-Palmolive (household products, personal care, pet food)
- Arconic (aluminum, titanium, nickel)
- Estée Lauder Companies (makeup, skin care, hair care, fragrances)
- L3 Technologies (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance systems)
- PVH (branded clothing)
- Ralph Lauren Corp (clothing, footwear, fragrances, housewares, jewelry)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products which each business sells.
New York’s capital is Albany, a city nicknamed “Cradle of the Union” or the “518 Cap City” where 518 refers to Albany’s telephone area code.
See also Utah’s Top 10 Exports, California’s Top 10 Exports, Top 10 Exports from Texas and Maine’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, New York GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on October 17, 2022
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Forbes 2018 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 17, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 17, 2022
New York Business Journal, JPMorgan Chase leads the list of 45 New York companies on the new Fortune 500 ranking. Accessed on October 17, 2022
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: New York, United States. Accessed on October 17, 2022
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Wikipedia, List of New York Companies. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Wikipedia, New York (state). Accessed on October 17, 2022
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Albany, United States. Accessed on October 17, 2022
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on October 17, 2022
