Nicknamed the “Keystone State” or “Quaker State” and located in America’s northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions, Pennsylvania shipped US$49.8 billion worth of exported products around the globe in 2022.

That dollar amount results from a 16.5% rise from $42.7 billion four years earlier in 2019.

Year over year, the overall value of Pennsylvanian exports increased by 11.2% compared to $44.8 billion during 2021.

Pennsylvania ranks among America’s 10 biggest exporters by state lagging front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York state and Illinois. The value of Pennsylvania’s exports equals 2.4% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2022, down from 2.5% one year earlier.

Based on statistics from Statista, Pennsylvania’s exported products represent 6.9% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($726.1 billion).

Given Pennsylvania’s population of 12.972 million people, its total $49.8 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $3,800 for every resident in the Quaker State. That dollar metric exceeds the average $3,400 per capita for 2021.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 4.1% at the end of September 2022, down from 7.3% in February 2022 per YCharts.

Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports

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

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

1. Miscellaneous medications: US$2.56 billion (5.1% of Pennsylvania’s total exports)
2. Liquified propane: $2.47 billion (4.8%)
3. Human medicine vaccines: $1.44 billion (2.9%)
4. Coal (non-agglomerated, bituminous): $1.35 billion (2.7%)
5. Saturated acyclic hydrocarbons: $863.6 million (1.7%)
6. Immunological goods for retail sale: $820 million (1.6%)
7. Liquefied butanes: $738.2 million (1.5%)
8. Small portable computers: $682.7 million (1.4%)
9. Organic compound precious metal, amalgams: $618.7 million (1.2%)
10. Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $612 million (1.2%)

Pennsylvania’s top 10 exports generated almost one-quarter (24.2%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

Liquefied butanes was the fastest grower among the leading Pennsylvanian exports, increasing by 45.7% from 2021 to 2022.

In second place were saturated acyclic hydrocarbons (up 45.3%) ahead of exported miscellaneous medications (up 36.5%) then liquid propane (up 35%).

The sole decliner among Pennsylvania’s top 10 export products was organic compound precious metal and amalgams, pulled down by a -23.4% reduction from 2021.

More Key Facts about Pennsylvania’s International Trade

Overall, Pennsylvania incurred a -US$60.9 billion trade deficit exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 14.2% year-over-year expansion from -$53.3 billion in red 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 Pennsylvania’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022.

1. Miscellaneous medications: US$10.7 billion (9.6% of Pennsylvania’s total imports)
2. Crude petroleum oils: $5.2 billion (4.7%)
3. Smartphones: $4.8 billion (4.3%)
4. Immunological products in dosage for retail sale: $4.34 billion (3.9%)
5. Small portable computers: $3.7 billion (3.3%)
6. Human medicine vaccines: $3.5 billion (3.2%)
7. Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $2.5 billion (2.3%)
8. Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $1.7 billion (1.5%)
9. Road tractors for semi-trailers (piston engine): $888.4 million (0.8%)
10. Large automobiles (piston engine): $856.1 million (0.8%)

Pennsylvania has highly negative net exports especially in the international trade of a wide variety of medicines, crude petroleum oils and mobile phones. In turn, these cashflows indicate Pennsylvania’s strong competitive disadvantages under those product categories showing the strong impact of foreign goods on the Pennsylvanian global balance sheet.

Pennsylvania’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchase 70.1% worth of the total value of products exported from Pennsylvania during 2022.

1. Canada: US$13.8 billion (27.7% of Pennsylvania’s total exports)
2. Mexico: $5.2 billion (10.5%)
3. Netherlands: $3.26 billion (6.5%)
4. mainland China: $2.85 billion (5.7%)
5. Germany: $2.34 billion (4.7%)
6. United Kingdom: $1.86 billion (3.7%)
7. Japan: $1.67 billion (3.3%)
8. Belgium: $1.36 billion (2.7%)
9. India: $1.35 billion (2.7%)
10. France: $1.07 billion (2.2%)

Pennsylvania’s top trade partners in North America–Canada and Mexico–accounted for 38.2% of the overall value of the state’s exported goods.

That percentage compares to 11.8% bought by Asia’s leading importers (mainland China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea) of Pennsylvanian exports.

A larger 23.2% worth went to Pennsylvania’s biggest customers in Europe. The major European customers for Pennsylvanian exports were Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Belgium.

Pennsylvanian Export Companies

Forty-six of Pennsylvania-headquartered corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that includes America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.

• Armstrong World Industries (walls, ceilings)
• Carpenter Technology Corp (stainless steel, alloys)
• Dentsply Sirona (dental supplies, equipment)
• EnerSys (batteries)
• EQT Corp (petroleum, natural gas)
• GNC (vitamins, other health-related foods)
• Kennametal (tools, industrial materials)
• Unisys Corp (IT software, technology, services)
• United Refining Company (petroleum, gasoline)
• Vishay Intertechnology (electronic components, semiconductors)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
 
Pennsylvania’s capital is Harrisburg, a city literally nicknamed “Pennsylvania’s Capital City”.

See also Oklahoma’s Top 10 Exports, Alaska’s Top 10 Exports, Top 10 Exports from Massachusetts, Louisiana’s Top 10 Exports and Virginia’s Top 10 Exports

Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on June 15, 2023

Forbes, 2016 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 15, 2023

GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List, Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on June 15, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 15, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 15, 2023

Statista, Real gross domestic product of Pennsylvania. Accessed on June 15, 2023

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Pennsylvania. Accessed on June 15, 2023

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on June 15, 2023

Wikipedia, Category:Companies based in Pennsylvania. Accessed on June 15, 2023

Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on June 15, 2023

Wikipedia, Pennsylvania. Accessed on June 15, 2023

World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Harrisburg, United States. Accessed on June 15, 2023

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on June 15, 2023