That dollar amount reflects a 14% gain from $38 billion four years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the overall value of New Jerseyan export sales dropped by -6.3% compared to $46.2 billion during 2022.
New Jersey is the 13th biggest American exporter by state lagging front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York state and Illinois.
The value of New Jersey’s exports equals 2.1% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2023, down from 2.2% one year prior.
Based on research from IBIS World, New Jersey’s exported products represent 7.4% of the state’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product ($586.6 billion).
Given New Jersey’s population of 9.456 million people, its total $43.3 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $4,600 for every resident in the Garden State. That dollar metric falls below the average $5,000 per capita one year earlier in 2022.
New Jersey’s unemployment rate was 4.8% at March 2024, up from 4% one year prior per YCharts.
New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in New Jersey global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from New Jersey.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Computers: US$2.11 billion (4.9% of New Jersey’s total exports)
- Palladium (unwrought or in powder form): $2.06 billion (4.8%)
- Non-silver precious metal jewelry, parts: $1.9 billion (4.4%)
- Rhodium (unwrought or in powder form): $1.6 billion (3.6%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $1.3 billion (2.9%)
- Processed petroleum oils (not biodiesel): $1.11 billion (2.6%)
- Beauty and skin care preparations: $1.1 billion (2.5%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian equipment: $840.7 million (1.9%)
- Precious metal waste, scrap: $712.7 million (1.6%)
- Iron waste, scrap: $679.1 million (1.6%)
New Jersey’s top 10 exports generated nearly one-third (31%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Computers including optical readers represent the fastest grower among New Jersey’s top 10 export categories, up by 222.8% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales were beauty and skin care preparations, thanks to its 11% increase from 2022.
New Jersey’s shipments of non-silver precious metal jewelry including parts appreciated by 7.4%, ahead of .
The other increases among New Jersey’s top 10 export products were the 7.7% upturn for jewelry and parts made with precious metals excluding silver, as well as the 5.8% upturn for exported medical, dental or veterinarian instruments and appliances.
The severest year-over-year decliners were New Jersey’s exports of iron waste and scrap (down -20.8% from 2022) then precious metal waste and scrap (down -14.7% from 2022).
More Key Facts about New Jersey’s International Trade
New Jersey incurred an overall -US$101 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2023. That dollar amount reflects a -13.5% year-over-year reduction from -$116.8 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 New Jersey’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2023.
- Light petroleum oils: US$12.5 billion (8.7% of New Jersey’s total imports)
- Crude petroleum oils: $9.5 billion (6.6%)
- Miscellaneous medications: $5.7 billion (4%)
- Processed petroleum oils (not biodiesel): $4 billion (2.8%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $3.8 billion (2.6%)
- Large automobiles (piston engine): $3.4 billion (2.3%)
- Automobiles (both spark ignition and electric motors): $3.2 billion (2.2%)
- Computer parts, accessories: $2.85 billion (2%)
- Solar photovoltaic cells modules, panels: $1.7 billion (1.2%)
- Perfumes, toilet waters: $1.2 billion (0.8%)
New Jersey has highly negative net exports notably in the international trade of petroleum oils, medicines and automobiles. In turn, these cashflows indicate New Jersey’s strong competitive disadvantages under these product categories showing the strong impact of foreign goods on New Jersey’s global balance sheet.
New Jersey’s Major Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased over three-fifths (62%) worth of the total value of products exported from New Jersey during 2023.
- Canada: US$8.8 billion (20.3% of New Jersey’s total exports)
- Mexico: $3.3 billion (7.5%)
- Japan: $2.4 billion (5.6%)
- mainland China: $2.3 billion (5.3%)
- United Kingdom: $2 billion (4.6%)
- Germany: $1.94 billion (4.5%)
- Italy: $1.84 billion (4.2%)
- Netherlands: $1.6 billion (3.7%)
- South Korea: $1.4 billion (3.3%)
- United Arab Emirates: $1.3 billion (3%)
New Jersey’s trade partners in North America–Canada and Mexico–exceeded one-quarter (27.8%) of the overall value of exported goods from the Garden State in 2023.
That percentage compares with 17% for top importing countries in Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Netherland) as well as 14.2% for leading New Jerseyan trade partners located in Asia (Japan, mainland China and South Korea).
New Jerseyan Export Companies
Thirty of New Jersey-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.
- Automatic Data Processing (management software, services)
- Bard (medical technologies)
- Becton Dickinson (medical devices, instrument systems, reagents)
- Campbell’s (soups, juices, related products)
- Celgene Corp (medicines for cancer, inflammatory disorders)
- Church & Dwight Co. (household goods)
- Honeywell International (aircraft, defense industry, computer, scanning, mobile goods)
- PBF Energy (petroleum oils, lubricants, petrochemicals)
- Pinnacle Foods (frozen food, condiments, mixes, packaged meat)
- Zoetis (animal medicines, vaccinations)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
New Jersey’s capital is Trenton, a city literally nicknamed “The Capital City”.
See also Oklahoma’s Top 10 Exports, Alaska’s Top 10 Exports, Oregon’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Virginia’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on May 4, 2024
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 4, 2024
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2020 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on May 4, 2024
IBIS World, New Jersey GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on May 4, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 4, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 4, 2024
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: New Jersey. Accessed on May 4, 2024
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on May 4, 2024
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on May 4, 2024
Wikipedia, New Jersey. Accessed on May 4, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of New Jersey. Accessed on May 4, 2024
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on May 4, 2024