That dollar amount results from a 17.7% increase from $3.41 billion four years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the overall value of Idaho’s exports fell by -1.7% compared to $4.1 billion in 2022.
Idaho ranks as America’s 8th smallest exporters by state, badly lagging the largest state competitors including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York state and Illinois.
The value of Idaho’s exports equals 0.2% of all United States’ overall exported products for 2023.
Based on research from IBIS World, Idaho’s exported products represent 4.7% of the state’s total economic output or Gross Domestic Product in 2023 ($85.7 billion).
Given Idaho’s population of 2.04 million people, its total $4 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $2,000 for every resident in the Gem State. That dollar metric lags the average $2,100 per capita in 2022.
Idaho’s unemployment rate was 3.3% at the end of March 2024, up from 2.9% one year earlier per YCharts.
Idaho’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Idaho global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Idaho.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Solar power photovoltaic semi-conductor devices: US$447.7 million (11.2% of Idaho’s total exports)
- Miscellaneous items made from precious metal: $266.8 million (6.7%)
- Photographic plates, films: $202.1 million (5%)
- Ammonium dihydrogenorthophosphates: $168.8 million (4.2%)
- Lead ores, concentrates: $147 million (3.7%)
- Frozen prepared potatoes: $98.3 million (2.5%)
- Electronic controls: $84.7 million (2.1%)
- Live cattle not for purebred breeding: $82.6 million (2.1%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (processors, controllers): $66.5 million (1.7%)
- Phosphorus: $66.4 million (1.7%)
Idaho’s top 10 exports accounted for 40.7% of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
The strongest gainers from 2022 to 2023 among Idaho’s top 10 export categories were frozen prepared potatoes (up 146.6%) then electronic controls (up 49.8%), live cattle not for purebred breeding (up 24.5%) and phosphorus (up 17.2%).
There was a pair of double-digit decliners among Idaho’s top 10 export products namely ammonium dihydrogenorthophosphates (down -10.2% from 2022) and photographic plates or films (also down -10.2%).
More Key Facts about Idaho’s International Trade
Idaho incurred an overall -US$4 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2023. That dollar amount reflects a -1.7% decrease from -$4.1 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 Idaho’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2023.
- Computer parts and accessories: US$1.3 billion (21.3% of Idaho’s total imports)
- Electronic integrated circuits (memories): $782 million (12.8%)
- Solid-state semiconductor storage devices: $647.8 million (10.6%)
- Urea: $132.7 million (2.2%)
- Solar power photovoltaic semi-conductor devices: $101.4 million (1.7%)
- Oriented strand board: $98.5 million (1.6%)
- Colza seed oilcake, solid residues: $96.3 million (1.6%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $89.4 million (1.5%)
- Machinery for making semi-conductors: $72.1 million (1.2%)
- Parts of machinery for making semi-conductors: $65.5 million (1.1%)
Idaho has highly negative net exports in the international trade of technology-related products notably computer parts or accessories and electronic circuitry components. In turn, these cashflows indicate Idaho’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories.
Idaho’s Major Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 83.8% worth of the total value of products exported from Idaho during 2023.
- Canada: US$1.5 billion (37.3% of Idaho’s total exports)
- Taiwan: $504.4 million (12.6%)
- Mexico: $284.2 million (7.1%)
- Japan: $237.2 million (5.9%)
- Singapore: $208.2 million (5.2%)
- Malaysia: $191.2 million (4.8%)
- mainland China: $179.6 million (4.5%)
- South Korea: $93.6 million (2.3%)
- Netherlands: $87.9 million (2.2%)
- Australia: $78.7 million (2%)
Idaho’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) bought 44.4% of the overall value of goods exported from the Gem State.
That percentage compares with 35.3% for Idaho’s top customers in Asia (Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China and South Korea).
Idahoan Export Companies
Two Idaho-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Those two examples are listed below.
- Boise Cascade (lumber, building supplies)
- Micron Technology (semiconductor devices, flash memory, solid-state drives)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Idaho’s capital is Boise, nicknamed “The City of Trees”.
See also Nevada’s Top 10 Exports, New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports, Missouri’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Mississippi’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on May 10, 2024
Forbes, 2020 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 10, 2024
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2020 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on May 10, 2024
IBIS World, Idaho Economic Profile (gross domestic product, population). Accessed on May 10, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 10, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 10, 2024
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on May 10, 2024
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Idaho. Accessed on May 10, 2024
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on May 10, 2024
Wikipedia, Idaho. Accessed on May 10, 2024
Wikipedia, List of companies based in Idaho. Accessed on May 10, 2024
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on May 10, 2024
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on May 10, 2024