That dollar amount reflects a 2.4% year-over-year increase from $17.7 billion for 2020.
Over a 4-year time horizon, the overall value of Utahn exports expanded by 25.8% compared to $14.4 billion during 2018.
Looking ahead to 2022, the value of Utah’s exports from January to August 2022 totaled $16.2 billion. The dollar sum for exports from Utah is projected to be an annualized $16.2 billion, decreasing by -10.7% versus $18.1 billion for 2021.
Utah ranks among America’s 30 biggest exporters by state behind front-runners including Texas, California, New York and Washington states. The value of Utah’s exports equals 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), Utah’s exported products represent 8.2% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2021 ($220.3 billion in current dollars based on BEA statistics).
Given Utah’s population of 3.338 million people, its total $18.1 billion in 2021 exports translates to roughly $5,400 for every resident in the Beehive State. That dollar metric is similar to the average amount per capita one year earlier during 2020.
Utah’s unemployment rate was 2% in August 2022, down from 3% at February 2021 per YCharts.
Utah’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Utah global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Utah.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Gold (unwrought): US$8.3 billion (45.9% of Utah’s total exports)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $608.4 million (3.4%)
- Medical needles, catheters: $464.3 million (2.6%)
- Aircraft including engines, parts: $316.6 million (1.7%)
- Composite diagnostic/laboratory reagents: $313 million (1.7%)
- Solid-state semiconductor storage devices: $250.5 million (1.4%)
- Safety airbags with inflator system: $232.8 million (1.3%)
- Essential oils: $232.8 million (1.3%)
- X-ray tubes: $229.2 million (1.3%)
- Integrated circuits (memories): $218.4 million (1.2%)
Utah’s top 10 exports generated over three-fifths (61.8%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Composite diagnostic and laboratory reagents represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 56.3% from 2020 to 2021. In second place for improving export sales were medical needles and catheters thanks to a 42.5% advance. Utah’s shipments of x-ray tubes posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 31.8%.
Year over year, there were 3 decliners among Utah’s top 10 export products. The value of Utahn exports of memories for electronic Integrated circuits fell -32% from 2020. Safety airbags with inflator system dropped -15.2% while export sales of gold from Utah shrank -6.5%.
More Key Facts about Utah’s International Trade
Overall, Utah incurred a -$2.8 trillion deficit exporting and importing products during 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 Utah’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2021.
- Crude oil: $133.1 billion (4.7% of Utah’s total imports)
- Medium-sized passenger vehicles (piston engine): $75 billion (2.7%)
- Miscellaneous medications for retail sale: $65.2 million (2.3%)
- Cell phones: $60.7 billion (2.1%)
- Portable small computers : $59.8 billion (2.1%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $42.2 billion (1.5%)
- Miscellaneous processed petroleum oils: $36.9 billion (1.3%)
- Immunological products in dosage: $35.3 billion (1.2%)
- Large passenger vehicles (piston engine): $33.2 billion (1.2%)
- Miscellaneous digital computers: $32.6 billion (1.2%)
Utah has negative net exports notably in the international trade of petroleum oils, passenger vehicles and medicines. In turn, these cashflows indicate Utah’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories.
Utah’s Major Trading Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased about four-fifths (79.7%) worth of the total value of products exported from Utah during 2021.
- United Kingdom: $8.5 billion (47.2% of Utah’s total exports)
- Canada: $1.5 billion (8.4%)
- Mexico: $1.14 billion (6.3%)
- Japan: $713 million (3.9%)
- Taiwan: $621.1 million (3.4%)
- Netherlands: $561.3 million (3.1%)
- South Korea: $433.1 million (2.4%)
- Germany: $346.2 million (1.9%)
- France: $289.6 million (1.6%)
- Singapore: $253.6 million (1.4%)
Utah’s top trade partners in Europe (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany and France) bought 53.8% of the overall value of exported goods from the Beehive State.
In contrast, 14.7% of Utahn exports were bought by fellow North American trading partners Canada and Mexico.
Asian importers purchased 11.2% of overall exported products sold by Utah in 2021.
Utah’s Export Companies
Four Utah-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. These examples are listed below.
- Nu Skin Enterprises (personal care items, dietary supplements)
- SkyWest Airlines (regional airliner)
- Vista Outdoor (outdoor sports/recreation products)
- Zions Bancorporation (bank holding company)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the products or services which each business sells, some of which are international trade-related.
Utah’s capital is Salt Lake City, a city nicknamed “The Crossroads of the West”.
See also Florida’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, Utah 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
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2018 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on October 17, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 17, 2022
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on October 17, 2022
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Utah. Accessed on October 17, 2022
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Utah Companies. Accessed on October 17, 2022
Wikipedia, Utah. Accessed on October 17, 2022
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Salt Lake City, United States. Accessed on October 17, 2022
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on October 17, 2022
