That dollar amount reflects a year-over-year 4.8% gain from $16.6 billion for 2022.
Over a 4-year time horizon, the overall value of Utahn exports fell by -1.7% compared to $17.7 billion during 2020.
Utah ranks as America’s 29th biggest exporters by state behind front-runners including Texas, California, Louisiana, New York state and Illinois.
The value of Utah’s exports equals 0.9% of the United States’ overall exported products as reported for 2022.
Utah’s exported products represent 6.4% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2023 ($272.6 billion).
Given Utah’s population of 3.42 million people, its total $17.4 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $5,100 for every resident in the Beehive State. That dollar metric surpasses the average $4,900 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Utah’s unemployment rate was 2.8% at March 2024, up from 2.5% one year earlier for March 2023 per YCharts.
Utah’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Utah global shipments during 2023. 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$6.94 billion (39.9% of Utah’s total exports)
- Civilian aircraft plus engines, parts: $567.2 million (3.3%)
- Medical needles, catheters: $501.2 million (2.9%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $463 million (2.7%)
- Computer parts, accessories: $384.7 million (2.2%)
- Surgical, dental, veterinarian instruments: $378.3 million (2.2%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (processors, controllers): $315.4 million (1.8%)
- Artificial joints, and parts or accessories: $292.9 million (1.7%)
- Composite diagnostic/laboratory reagents: $286 million (1.6%)
- Safety airbags with inflator system: $273.2 million (1.6%)
Utah’s top 10 exports generated about three-fifths (59.8%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Processors and controllers for electronic integrated circuits represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 846.9% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales were computer parts or accessories thanks to that category’s 175.1% advance.
Utah’s shipments of surgical, dental or veterinarian instruments posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 81.2%.
Year over year, there were 3 double-digit decliners among Utah’s top 10 export products. The value of Utahn exports of miscellaneous food preparations dropped -10.6% year over year. International sales of medical needles and catheters slipped -9.5% while exported unwrought gold flatlined by -0.3% from 2022.
More Key Facts about Utah’s International Trade
Utah recorded an overall -US$1.2 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2023, reducing by -52.4% from -$2.5 billion 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 Utah’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2023.
- Gold (unwrought): US$2.8 billion (15% of Utah’s total imports)
- Computer parts, accessories: $755.6 million (4.1%)
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $663.1 million (3.6%)
- Silver (unwrought): $640.8 million (3.4%)
- Lithium ion batteries: $626 million (3.4%)
- Semi-trailer road tractors (diesel engine): $542.7 million (2.9%)
- Safety airbags with inflator system: $412.9 million (2.2%)
- Live cattle (excluding for purebred breeding): $411.7 million (2.2%)
- Vehicle steering wheels, columns, boxes: $356.4 million (1.9%)
- Surgical, dental, veterinarian instruments: $308.5 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 (82.5) worth of the total value of products exported from Utah during 2023.
- United Kingdom: US$7.16 billion (41.2% of Utah’s total exports)
- Canada: $1.7 billion (9.8%)
- Mexico: $1.34 billion (7.7%)
- mainland China: $1.22 billion (7%)
- Japan: $821.3 million (4.7%)
- Netherlands: $565 million (3.2%)
- Germany: $397.2 million (2.3%)
- Singapore: $393.9 million (2.3%)
- South Korea: $387.1 million (2.2%)
- France: $263.4 million (2.1%)
Utah’s top trade partners in Europe (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany and France) bought 48.8% of the overall value of exported goods from the Beehive State.
In contrast, 17.5% of Utahn exports were bought by fellow North American trading partners Canada and Mexico.
Leading Asian importers (mainland China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea) purchased 16.2% of overall exported products sold by Utah in 2023.
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:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on April 24, 2024
Forbes, 2020 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 24, 2024
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2020 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on April 24, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 24, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 24, 2024
State Symbols USA, State Nicknames. Accessed on April 24, 2024
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Utah. Accessed on April 24, 2024
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on April 24, 2024
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on April 24, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Utah Companies. Accessed on April 24, 2024
Wikipedia, Utah. Accessed on April 24, 2024
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on April 24, 2024