Year over year, the overall value of Floridian exports slowed to a 1.7% gain compared to $67.7 billion during 2022.
Florida mostly occupies a peninsula in the southeastern-most region of the continental United States separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
Florida ranks sixth among America’s top 10 biggest exporters by state behind front-runners Texas, California, Louisiana, New York state and Illinois. The value of Florida’s exports equals 3.4% of the overall value for the United States’ exports for 2023 (amounting to US$2.019 trillion).
Based on the most recent statistics from USA Facts web portal, Florida’s exported products represent 5% of the Sunshine State’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($1.389 trillion).
Given Florida’s population of 22.6 million people, its total $68.9 billion in 2023 exports translates to $3,047 for every resident in the Sunshine State. That dollar metric falls below the average $3,100 per capita one year earlier in 2022.
Florida’s unemployment rate was 3% in December 2023, up from the 2.7% jobless rate for December 2022.
Florida’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Florida global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Florida.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Aircraft including engines, parts: US$9 billion (13% of Florida’s total exports)
- Smartphones: $5.3 billion (7.7%)
- Small portable computers: $2.36 billion (3.4%)
- Cars: $1.9 billion (2.8%)
- Medications: $1.87 billion (2.7%)
- Electronic integrated circuits, microassemblies: $1.46 billion (2.6%)
- Mineral or chemical fertilizers: $1.65 billion (2.4%)
- Boats including yachts, row boats: $1.31 billion (1.9%)
- Turbojets, gas turbines: $1.23 billion (1.8%)
- Medical/surgical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $1.083 billion (1.6%)
Florida’s top 10 exports approached two-fifths (39.8%) of the overall value of the Sunshine State’s global shipments.
Year over year, the fastest sales gainers among Florida’s top 10 export categories were boats ranging from yachts to row boats (up 44.5% from 2022), cars (up 29.2%) then mobile phones (up 22.8%).
Leading the decliners were Florida’s exports of mineral or chemical fertilizers pulled down by a -39.6% drop from 2022. In second place for reducing export sales were medications (down -30.2%), then electronic integrated circuits and microassemblies including parts (down -28.1%).
More Key Facts about Florida
Overall, Florida incurred a -US$43.7 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2023. That dollar amount reflects a -1.9% year-over-year reduction from -$44.5 billion in red ink for 2022.
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 Florida’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on imported foreign-made goods in 2023.
- Cars: US$8.7 billion (7.7% of Florida’s total imports)
- Smartphones: $4.2 billion (3.7%)
- Nucleic acids, salts: $3.75 billion (3.3%)
- Refined petroleum oils: $3.1 billion (2.7%)
- Fish fillets, other fish meat: $3 billion (2.7%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft, launch vehicles: $2.63 billion (2.3%)
- Electronic integrated circuits, microassemblies: $2 billion (1.8%)
- Gold (unwrought): $1.83 billion (1.6%)
- Alcoholic beverages excluding wines: $1.76 billion (1.6%)
- Cut flowers including for bouquets: $1.6 billion (1.4%)
Historically, Florida has incurred negative net exports in the international trade of automobiles. In turn, these cashflows indicate Florida’s competitive disadvantages under the automobiles-related product category showing the strong impact of foreign-made automotive goods on Florida’s global balance sheet}
Florida’s Top Trading Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 44.4% worth of the total value of products exported from Florida during 2023.
- Canada: US$5.2 billion (7.5% of Florida’s total exports)
- Brazil: $5.12 billion (7.4%)
- Mexico: $4.26 billion (6.2%)
- United Kingdom: $3.24 billion (4.7%)
- Dominican Republic: $2.37 billion (3.4%)
- Colombia: $2.35 billion (3.4%)
- Chile: $2.08 billion (3%)
- Germany: $2.03 billion (2.9%)
- Paraguay: $2 billion (2.9%)
- Argentina: $1.95 billion (2.8%)
Florida’s top trade partners in South America (Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina) accounted for 19.6% of the overall value of exported goods from the Sunshine State. This compares with 13.7% of Floridian shipments consumed by North American trade partners, Mexico and Canada.
Florida Export Companies
Thirty-five of Florida-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.
- B/E Aerospace (aircraft-related products)
- Citrix Systems (software, cloud computing technologies)
- Dycom Industries (telecommunications)
- Harris Corp (communication, electronic, space, intelligence systems)
- MasTec (pipelines, wireless communications, infrastructure)
- Platform Specialty Products Corp (chemicals)
- Roper Technologies (systems, controls, instruments)
- Ryder (transportation/supply chain management goods)
- Tupperware Brands Corp (household goods, cosmetics, personal care)
- Watsco (air conditioning, heating, refrigeration-related goods)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Florida’s capital is Tallahassee, a city nicknamed “Tally”.
See also America’s Top 20 Export States, United States Top 10 Exports and Top United States Trade Balances
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on February 26, 2024
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on February 26, 2024
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2017 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on February 26, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on February 26, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on February 26, 2024
United States Census Bureau, U. S. Exports of Goods by State, Based on Origin of Movement, by NAICS-Based Product. Accessed on February 26, 2024
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Florida. Accessed on February 26, 2024
USA FACTS, Gross domestic product (GDP) state – Florida. Accessed on February 26, 2024
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on February 26, 2024
Wikipedia, Florida. Accessed on February 26, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Florida Companies. Accessed on February 26, 2024
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on February 26, 2024
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on February 26, 2024