That dollar amount results from a 34% rise from $22.3 billion four years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, the overall value of Oregonian exports grew by 12.5% compared to $26.6 billion during 2020.
Looking ahead to 2022, the value of Oregonian exports from January to August 2022 totaled $22.6 billion. The dollar sum for exports from Oregon is projected to be an annualized $33.9 billion, advancing 13.2% versus the $29.9 billion for 2021.
Oregon ranks among America’s 20 most lucrative exporters by state well behind bigger front-runners like Texas, California, New York and Louisiana. The value of Oregon’s exports equals 1.7% of United States’ overall exported products for 2021.
Based on statistics from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Oregon’s exported products represent 11.2% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product ($266.9 billion in 2021).
Given Oregon’s population of 4.246 million people, its total $29.9 billion in 2021 exports translates to roughly $7,000 for every resident in the Pacific Northwest state. That dollar metric outpaces the average $5,800 per capita one year earlier in 2020.
Oregon’s unemployment rate was 3.7% at the end of August 2022, down from 6.1% in February 2021 per YCharts.
Oregon’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Oregon global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Oregon.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): US$11.6 billion (38.6% of Oregon’s total exports)
- Machinery for making semi-conductors: $2.3 billion (7.7%)
- Potassium chloride: $1.03 billion (3.5%)
- Wheat (excluding durum): $990.1 million (3.3%)
- Semi-trailer road tractors: $648.3 million (2.2%)
- Machinery for making semi-conductor parts, accessories: $636.4 million (2.1%)
- Aircraft including engines, parts: $520.5 million (1.7%)
- Medium-size motor vehicles (piston engine): $439.7 million (1.5%)
- Miscellaneous integrated circuits: $417.4 million (1.4%)
- Parts of electronic integrated circuits: $380.8 million (1.3%)
Oregon’s top 10 exports accounted for 63.2% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Parts of electronic integrated circuits grew at the fastest pace, up by 422% from 2020 to 2021.
In second place for annual growth were medium-sized motor vehicles powered by piston engines (up 128.4%) ahead of Oregonian exports of potassium chloride (up 49.7%), semi-trailer road tractors (up 37%), then machinery for making semi-conductor devices (up 37%).
Year over year, there were a pair of decliners among Oregon’s top 10 export products. These were miscellaneous integrated circuits (down -0.8% from 2020) and parts or accessories for machinery for making semi-conductor devices (down -0.4%).
More Key Facts about Oregon’s International Trade
Oregon posted an overall $7.44 billion surplus exporting and importing products during 2021. That dollar amount reflects a -2.1% reduction from $7.6 billion in black ink in 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 Oregon’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2021.
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $2.2 billion (9.6% of Oregon’s total imports)
- Large automobiles (piston engine): $836.2 million (3.7%)
- Potassium chloride: $813.7 million (3.6%)
- Machinery for making semi-conductors: $802.2 million (3.6%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $762.6 million (3.4%)
- Machinery for making semi-conductor parts, accessories: $722.2 million (3.2%)
- Digital processing units (individual components): $598.9 million (2.7%)
- Semi-conductor devices (excluding photosensitive/photovoltaic cells: $415.6 million (1.8%)
- Vehicles with both spark-ignition plus electric motors: $339.4 million (1.5%)
- Lithium ion batteries: $330.6 million (1.5%)
Oregon has highly positive net exports in the international trade of integrated circuits and machinery for making semi-conductors. In turn, these cashflows indicate Oregon’s strong competitive advantages under both leading product categories which create a strong positive impact on Oregon’s global balance sheet.
Oregon’s Major Trading Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchase about four-fifths (80.5%) worth of the total value of products exported from Oregon during 2021.
- China: $10.6 billion (35.5% of Oregon’s total exports)
- Canada: $3.3 billion (10.9%)
- Malaysia: $2.23 billion (7.4%)
- South Korea: $1.64 billion (5.5%)
- Israel: $1.57 billion (5.2%)
- Japan: $1.57 billion (5.2%)
- Taiwan: $1.15 billion (3.8%)
- Vietnam: $1.06 billion (3.5%)
- Ireland: $631.5 million (2.1%)
- Singapore: $565.7 million (1.9%)
Oregon’s top trading partners located in Asia (mainland China, Malaysia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore) bought over three-quarters (68.2%) of the overall value of exported goods from the state.
Oregonian Export Companies
Just two of Oregon-headquartered corporations rank among Fortune 500 companies as of February 2021, according to the State of Oregon’s Employment Department. These two revenue leaders are Nike, an athletic footwear and apparel multi-national supplier, and automotive retailer Lithia Motors.
Wikipedia identifies other large businesses with headquarters within Oregon States. One example is the world’s largest commercial firm specializing in the design and production of thermal imaging cameras, components and imaging sensors, namely FLIR Systems which is based in Wilsonville, Oregon.
Other large companies with their head offices in Oregon include the following.
- Columbia Sportswear (outerwear, sportswear, footwear)
- NW Natural (natural gas)
- Schnitzer Steel Industries (steel manufacturer, scrap metal recycler)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related product category in which each company conducts business.
Oregon’s capital city is Salem.
See also Ohio’s Top 10 Exports, Alabama’s Top 10 Exports, Top 10 Exports from Georgia State, Louisiana’s Top 10 Exports and Tennessee’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Department of Numbers, Oregon’s GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on October 19, 2022
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Forbes 2020 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 19, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 19, 2022
State of Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s Company Headquarters: Strong Growth and High Wages. Accessed on October 19, 2022
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Oregon. Accessed on October 19, 2022
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Wikipedia, Oregon. Accessed on October 19, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Companies based in Oregon. Accessed on October 19, 2022
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Salem’s United States. Accessed on October 19, 2022
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on October 19, 2022
