Based on United States Census Bureau’s foreign trade statistics, exported cars from all American states totaled US$63.6 billion in 2023.

That dollar amount results from a 37.4% increase from $46.3 billion four years earlier in 2020 and a 6.8% year-over-year gain compared to $59.5 billion for 2022.

On the other hand, the United States of America spent $208 billion on imported cars during 2023 accelerating by 45.5% from 2019 and inflating by 25.1% since 2022.

Consequently, America’s trade deficit specific to buying and selling cars on international markets swelled by 35.4% from -$106.7 billion to -$144.4 billion in red ink for 2023.

America’s Top 25 States for Exporting Cars

Below are the 25 American states that sold $62.7 billion worth of exported cars in 2023, or 98.7% of the overall US total.

Focusing on the 3 leading car exporters: Alabama, South Carolina and Michigan, generated 43.3% of revenues from total cars exported from the United States.

1. Alabama: US$11.3 billion (up 28.1% from 2022)
2. South Carolina: $10.2 billion (up 1.4%)
3. Michigan: $6 billion (down -11.4%)
4. Texas: $5.1 billion (up 29.8%)
5. California: $4.9 billion (down -11.3%)
6. Ohio: $3.5 billion (down -4.5%)
7. Georgia: $3.3 billion (up 0.8%)
8. Tennessee: $2.6 billion (up 29.7%)
9. Indiana: $2.3 billion (up 12.2%)
10. Kentucky: $2.2 billion (up 22.1%)
11. Illinois: $2 billion (down -43.2%)
12. Florida: $1.9 billion (up 29.1%)
13. New Jersey: $1.6 billion (down -1.2%)
14. New York: $1.5 billion (up 3.1%)
15. Maryland: $1.3 billion (up 310.8%)
16. Mississippi: $646.1 million (up 1.8%)
17. Minnesota: $488 million (up 17.8%)
18. Oregon: $368.5 million (up 26.6%)
19. Delaware: $256 million (up 16%)
20. Kansas: $239 million (down -23.7%)
21. Arizona: $223 million (up 90.2%)
22. Virginia: $209.6 million (up 53.1%)
23. Washington: $202.4 million (up 11.3%)
24. Pennsylvania: $150.3 million (up 23.2%)
25. North Carolina: $112.8 million (up 72.9%)

Year over year, the fastest growers among the listed car exporting states were Kansas (up 310.8% from 2022), Arizona (up 90.2%), North Carolina (up 72.9%), Virginia (up 53.1%), Texas (up 29.8%) and Tennessee (up 29.7%).

Declining car exporters were Illinois (down -43.2% from 2022), Kansas (down -23.7%), Michigan (down -11.4%), California (down -11.3%), Ohio (down -4.5%) and New Jersey (down -1.2%).

America’s Top 25 States for Importing Cars

The leading 25 American states that spent the most on imported cars accounted for US$207.2 billion or 99.6% of all cars imported into the United States in 2023.

The top 3 importers of cars from foreign suppliers were Michigan, California and Texas. That trio bought over half (53.4%) of America’s spending on imported cars.

1. Michigan: US$44.8 billion (up 37% from 2022)
2. California: $34.4 billion (down -8.6%)
3. Texas: $31.9 billion (up 103.2%)
4. Maryland: $14.6 billion (up 3.5%)
5. Georgia: $13.1 billion (down -0.9%)
6. New Jersey: $11.9 billion (up 4.2%)
7. Tennessee: $10 billion (up 48.3%)
8. Washington: $9.9 billion (up 63.7%)
9. Florida: $8.8 billion (up 8.2%)
10. Pennsylvania: $6.6 billion (up 31.1%)
11. North Carolina: $4.8 billion (up 9,614%)
12. Rhode Island: $4.7 billion (up 14.9%)
13. New York: $3.5 billion (up 257.6%)
14. Puerto Rico: $1.7 billion (up 26.8%)
15. Oregon: $1.5 billion (down -66.2%)
16. Massachusetts: $927.4 million (up 11.7%)
17. Louisiana: $810.6 million (up 17.4%)
18. Ohio: $603.4 million (up 149.3%)
19. Wisconsin: $522.3 million (up 915.5%)
20. Minnesota: $503.7 million (up 15.6%)
21. Arizona: $490.8 million (up 146.2%)
22. Virginia: $444.4 million (down -44.2%)
23. Hawaii: $315.8 million (up 2.5%)
24. Mississippi: $225.8 million (up 3,418%)
25. Utah: $200.7 million (up 41%)

Among the listed US states, the greatest increases in purchases of cars from international markets originated from: North Carolina (up 9,614% from 2022), Mississippi (up 3,418%), Wisconsin (up 915.5%), New York state (up 257.6%), Ohio (up 149.3%), Arizona (up 146.1%) and Texas (up 103.2%).

There were four decliners year over year. Specifically, these were car importers in Oregon (down -66.2% from 2022), Virginia (down -44.2%), California (down -8.6%) and Georgia (down -0.9%).
 

 

See also United States Top 10 Exports, United States Top 10 Imports, America’s Top 20 Export States and United States Top 10 Major Export Companies

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on December 10, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 10, 2024

United States Census Bureau, USA Trade Online. Accessed on December 10, 2024