That dollar amount reflects a year-over-year -8.6% decrease from $18.1 billion for 2021.
Over a 4-year time horizon, the overall value of Utahn exports fell by -4.8% compared to $17.4 billion during 2019.
Utah ranks among America’s 30 biggest exporters by state behind front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York State and Illinois. The value of Utah’s exports equals 1% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2022.
Based on research from Statista, Utah’s exported products represent 8.6% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($192 billion).
Given Utah’s population of 3.381 million people, its total $16.5 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $4,900 for every resident in the Beehive State. That dollar metric falls below the average $5,400 per capita one year earlier during 2021.
Utah’s unemployment rate was 2.4% for March 2023, down from 3% at February 2022 per YCharts.
Utah’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Utah global shipments during 2022. 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$7 billion (42.1% of Utah’s total exports)
- Medical needles, catheters: $553.8 million (3.3%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $518.5 million (3.1%)
- Civilian aircraft including engines, parts: $400.7 million (2.4%)
- Frozen beef (boneless): $264 million (1.6%)
- Composite diagnostic/laboratory reagents: $236.9 million (1.4%)
- Safety airbags with inflator system: $232.7 million (1.4%)
- X-ray tubes: $227.3 million (1.4%)
- Surgical, dental, veterinarian instruments: $208.7 million (1.3%)
- Artificial joints, and parts or accessories : $175.9 million (1.1%)
Utah’s top 10 exports generated almost three-fifths (59.1%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Artificial joints plus related parts or accessories represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 54.4% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was boneless frozen beef thanks to a 31.7% advance.
Utah’s shipments of civilian aircraft or aircraft parts including engines posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 26.6%.
Year over year, there were 2 double-digit decliners among Utah’s top 10 export products. The value of Utahn exports of unwrought gold fell -16.2% from 2021. Utah’s export sales of miscellaneous food preparations dropped -14.8% year over year.
More Key Facts about Utah’s International Trade
Overall, Utah recorded a -$2.6 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2022, down by -8.5% from -$2.8 billion 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 Utah’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022.
- Gold (unwrought): US$3 billion (15.7% of Utah’s total imports)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $631.9 million (3.3%)
- Silver (unwrought): $546.8 million (2.9%)
- Semi-trailer road tractors (diesel engine): $464.9 million (2.5%)
- Computer parts, accessories: $453.4 million (2.4%)
- Live cattle (excluding for purebred breeding): $398 million (2.1%)
- Lithium-ion batteries: $380.8 million (2%)
- Vehicle steering wheels, columns, boxes: $354.2 million (1.9%)
- Large airplanes: $348.7 million (1.8%)
- Safety airbags with inflator system: $332.9 million (1.7%)
Utah has negative net exports notably in the international trade of modems plus similar reception or transmission devices, raw silver, and semi-trailer road tractors powered by diesel engine. 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 over four-fifths (83.1) worth of the total value of products exported from Utah during 2022.
- United Kingdom: US$7.1 billion (42.8% of Utah’s total exports)
- Canada: $1.7 billion (10.2%)
- Mexico: $1.08 billion (6.5%)
- mainland China: $1.06 billion (6.4%)
- Japan: $765.4 million (4.6%)
- Netherlands: $553.4 million (3.3%)
- Australia: $445.9 million (2.7%)
- South Korea: $398 million (2.4%)
- Germany: $392.1 million (2.4%)
- France: $284.9 million (1.7%)
Utah’s top trade partners in Europe (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany and France) bought 50.2% of the overall value of exported goods from the Beehive State.
In contrast, 16.7% of Utahn exports were bought by fellow North American trading partners Canada and Mexico.
Leading Asian importers (mainland China, Japan and South Korea) purchased 13.4% of overall exported products sold by Utah in 2022.
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 April 30, 2023
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on April 30, 2023
Forbes, 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 30, 2023
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2019 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on April 30, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 30, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 30, 2023
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on April 30, 2023
Statista, Real gross domestic product of Utah. Accessed on April 30, 2023
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Utah. Accessed on April 30, 2023
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on April 30, 2023
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on April 30, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Utah Companies. Accessed on April 30, 2023
Wikipedia, Utah. Accessed on April 30, 2023
World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Salt Lake City, United States. Accessed on April 30, 2023
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on April 30, 2023
