Nicknamed the “Peace Garden State” and the “Roughrider State” located in America’s midwestern and northern regions, North Dakota shipped US$5.24 billion worth of products around the globe in 2022.

That dollar amount reflects a -24.8% decline from $7 billion four years earlier in 2019.

Year over year, the overall value of North Dakota’s exports flatlined via a 0.9% gain from $5.2 billion for 2021.

North Dakota ranks among America’s 10 smallest exporters by state lagging front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York State and Illinois. The value of North Dakota’s exports equals 0.3% of the United States’ overall export sales for 2022.

Based on research from Statista, North Dakota’s exported products represent 9.9% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($53.1 billion).

Given North Dakota’s population of 779,261 people, its total $5.24 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $6,700 for every resident in the Peace Garden State. That dollar metric is about the same as the average per capita in 2021.

North Dakota’s unemployment rate was 2.1% at the end of March 2023, down from 2.2% at February 2022 per YCharts.

North Dakota’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in North Dakota global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Dakota.

Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.

1. Light petroleum oils: US$1.44 billion (27.4% of North Dakota’s exports)
2. Crude petroleum oils: $327.6 million (6.2%)
3. Corn: $296.3 million (5.7%)
4. Wheat, meslin: $242.1 million (4.6%)
5. Large tractors: $192.3 million (3.7%)
6. Mechanical front-end shovel loaders: $177.6 million (3.4%)
7. Ethyl alcohol, other denatured spirits: $173.2 million (3.3%)
8. Biodiesel, petroleum mixes: $155.1 million (3%)
9. Saturated acyclic hydrocarbons: $146.1 million (2.8%)
10. Track-laying tractors: $106.3 million (2%)

North Dakota’s top 10 exports accounted for over three-fifths (62.1%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

Posting triple-digit growth among North Dakota’s top 10 export categories were shipments of large tractors (up 123.1% from 2021).

Other leading gainers were corn excluding seed corn (up 92.9%), track-laying tractors (up 85.7%), saturated acyclic hydrocarbons (up 55.8%) then mechanical front-end shovel loaders (up 41%).

There was a pair of decliners year over year. These were export sales for crude petroleum oils (down -52.7% from 2021) and light petroleum oils (down -15.1%).

More Key Facts about North Dakota’s International Trade

North Dakota posted a $651.5 million trade surplus exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a -64.8% plunge compared to $1.85 billion in black 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 North Dakota’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022.

1. Crude petroleum oils: US$256.7 million (5.6% of North Dakota’s imports)
2. Platinum scrap: $249.1 million (5.4%)
3. Internal combustion piston engines: $240.7 million (5.2%)
4. Colza oilseed, rapeseed (low erucic acid): $202.8 million (4.4%)
5. Electronic machinery with individual functions: $155.3 million (3.4%)
6. Electronic integrated circuits: $132.1 million (2.9%)
7. Anhydrous ammonia: $131.8 million (2.9%)
8. Misellaneous processed petroleum excluding biodiesel: $77.3 million (1.7%)
9. Air or gas pumps, compressors, fans: $77 million (1.7%)
10. Urea: $76.7 million (1.7%)

Overall, North Dakota has positive net exports in the international trade of petroleum oils. In turn, these cashflows indicate North Dakota’s competitive advantages under petroleum-related categories.

North Dakota’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 93.4% worth of the total value of products exported from North Dakota during 2022.

1. Canada: US$3.9 billion (74.3% of North Dakota’s exports)
2. Mexico: $450.8 million (8.6%)
3. Australia: $197 million (3.8%)
4. Czech Republic: $76.6 million (1.5%)
5. Germany: $74.1 million (1.4%)
6. Brazil: $54.5 million (1%)
7. Japan: $42.6 million (0.8%)
8. Belgium: $38.8 million (0.7%)
9. South Africa: $37 million (0.7%)
10. mainland China: $31.2 million (0.6%)

North Dakota’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) bought 82.9% of the overall value of exports sold from the Peace Garden State.

North Dakotan Export Companies

Just one North Dakota-based corporation ranks among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Headquartered in the North Dakotan capital city of Bismarck, MDU Resources Group delivers regulated energy, construction materials plus related goods and services to its customers.

According to Zippia, below are examples of other relatively large companies based in North Dakota.

• Border States (electrical supplies, related products)
• RDO Equipment Co. (industrial machinery)
• Titan Machinery (agricultural, construction equipment)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
 

North Dakota’s capital is Bismarck, a city nicknamed after Otto von Bismarck–former chancellor of the German Empire.

See also Nevada’s Top 10 Exports, Montana’s Top 10 Exports, Wisconsin’s Top 10 Exports, Arizona’s Top 10 Exports and Maryland’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, North Dakota GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on May 9, 2023

FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on May 9, 2023

Forbes, 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 9, 2023

GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2019 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on May 9, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 9, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 9, 2023

State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on May 9, 2023

Statista, Real gross domestic product of North Dakota. Accessed on May 9, 2023

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: North Dakota. Accessed on May 9, 2023

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on May 9, 2023

Wikipedia, List of North Dakota Companies. Accessed on May 9, 2023

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on May 9, 2023

Wikipedia, North Dakota. Accessed on May 9, 2023

World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Bismarck, United States. Accessed on May 9, 2023

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on May 9, 2023

Zippia, These are the 100 largest companies in North Dakota. Accessed on May 9, 2023