Nicknamed “The Buckeye State” and located in the Great Lakes region within America’s midwest, Ohio shipped US$55.9 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That dollar amount results from a -1.7% slowdown from $56.8 billion back in 2022.

Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Ohio declined by -2.6% compared to $57.4 billion for 2024.

Ohio slowed slightly to rank among America’s 11 most lucrative exporters by state, albeit well behind front-runners Texas, California, New York state and Louisiana. The value of Ohio’s exports equals 2.6% compared to the United States’ overall exported product sales for 2025 ($2.178 trillion) down from 2.8% for the prior year.

Ohio’s exported products represent 5.8% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product ($966.8 billion) in 2025.

The most valuable products shipped from Ohio are fully assembled civilian aircraft or aircraft engines or other parts; spark ignition piston engines; and mid-sized automobiles powered by reciprocating piston engines. Collectively, those major commodities generated 20.4% of Ohio’s total export sales during 2025.

Given Ohio’s population of 11.9 million people, its total US$55.9 billion in 2025 exports translates to $4,700 for every resident in the Great Lakes region state. That dollar metric lags the average $4,850 per capita for 2024.

Ohio’s unemployment rate was 4.2% at the end of February 2026, down from the 4.9% jobless rate one year prior per YCharts.

Ohio’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Ohio global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Ohio.

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

1. Civilian aircraft , aircraft engines or other parts: US$8.1 billion (14.5% of total Ohioan exports)
2. Spark-ignition piston engines: $2.4 billion (4.3%)
3. Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $919.7 million (1.6%)
4. Armored fighting vehicles, tanks, parts: $681.1 million (1.2%)
5. Vehicle body parts or accessories: $630.8 million (1.1%)
6. Medicines packaged for retail sale: $613.6 million (1.1%)
7. Large automobiles (piston engine): $520.3 million (0.9%)
8. Miscellaneous vehicle parts, accessories: $477.7 million (0.9%)
9. Surface-active cleaning preparations for retail sale: $477.4 million (0.9%)
10. Motor vehicle gear boxes: $473.2 million (0.8%)

Ohio’s top 10 exports accounted for over one-quarter (27.3%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

Armored fighting vehicles such as tanks or related vehicle parts represent the fastest grower among Ohio’s top 10 export categories, gaining 180.3% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales were medicines packaged for retail sale, thanks to a 40.7% advance.

Civilian aircraft, aircraft engines and other parts shipped from Ohio posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 34.9% ahead of exported spark-ignition piston engines’ 26.1% improvement.

Posting the severest declines among Ohio’s top 10 export products were large automobiles powered by piston engine (down -33.8% from 2024), surface-active cleaning preparations for retail sale (down -22.5%), motor vehicle gear boxes (down -17%), vehicle body parts or accessories (down -14.3%) then miscellaneous vehicle parts or accessories(down -13.1%).

More Key Facts about Ohio’s International Trade

Overall, Ohio racked up a -US$31.3 billion trade deficit exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount reflects a 6.2% increase from -$29.5 billion in red ink for 2024.

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.

All told, Ohio imported US$81.2 billion worth of products from around the globe in 2025 up by just 0.4% from one year prior.

Below are Ohio’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2025.

1. Medicines packaged for retail sale: US$4.3 billion (4.9% of total Ohioan imports)
2. Immunological products in measured doses for retail sale: $3.7 billion (4.2%)
3. Crude petroleum oils: $3.2 billion (3.7%)
4. Miscellaneous items clad in precious metals: $1.43 billion (1.6%)
5. Miscellaneous digital processing units: $1.37 billion (1.6%)
6. Spark-ignition piston engine parts: $1.2 billion (1.3%)
7. Automobile parts, accessories: $1.14 billion (1.3%)
8. Controls for electric appliances: $1.09 billion (1.2%)
9. Medical, dental or veterinarian instruments: $944.3 million (1.1%)
10. Vehicle gear boxes: $855.1 million (1%)

Historically, Ohio has highly negative net exports in the international trade of its international trade in drugs and medicines packaged for retail sale and crude oil. In turn, these cashflows indicate Ohio’s strong competitive disadvantages under pertinent product categories.

Ohio’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased almost three-quarters (74.9%) worth of the total value of products exported from Ohio during 2025.

1. Canada: US$17.5 billion (31.3% of total Ohioan exports)
2. Mexico: $8.6 billion (15.5%)
3. mainland China: $3 billion (5.4%)
4. France: $2.7 billion (4.8%)
5. United Kingdom: $2.4 billion (4.3%)
6. Japan: $2.1 billion (3.8%)
7. Brazil: $1.9 billion (3.4%)
8. Germany: $1.6 billion (2.8%)
9. Australia: $1 billion (1.9%)
10. Malaysia: $924.6 million (1.7%)

Ohio’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) consumed approaching half (46.8%) of the overall value of exported goods from The Buckeye State.

Ohioan Export Companies

Twenty-five of Ohio-headquartered corporations rank on the Fortune 500 listing of largest American businesses. Selected examples are presented below.

• American Electric Power (electricity distribution)
• FirstEnergy Corp (electricity distribution)
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (tire manufacturer)
• J.M. Smucker Company (fruit jams, beverages, toppings)
• L Brands (clothing, fashion accessories)
• Marathon Petroleum (oil, gas refiner)
• Owens-Illinois (glass containers)
• Parker Hannifin Corporation (motion or control technologies)
• Proctor & Gamble (consumer goods, personal care items)
• Sherwin-Williams (paints, other building materials)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related product category in which each company deals.
 

Ohio’s capital city is Columbus.

See also America’s Top 20 Export States, Alabama’s Top 10 Exports, Florida’s Top 10 Exports, Louisiana’s Top 10 Exports and Hawaii’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
Columbus Business First, 25 Ohio companies make new Fortune 500 list… . Accessed on April 27, 2026

Department of Numbers, Ohio GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on April 27, 2026

FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on April 27, 2026

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 27, 2026

IBIS World, State Economic Profile (including GDP). Accessed on April 27, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 27, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 27, 2026

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Ohio. Accessed on April 27, 2026

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on April 27, 2026

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on April 27, 2026

Wikipedia, Ohio. Accessed on April 27, 2026

Wikipedia, Category:Companies based in Ohio. Accessed on April 27, 2026

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on April 27, 2026