Data on Minnesota Exports for Third Quarter 2019 – Published November 2019

For More Information: Elizabeth Frosch, 651-259-7008

State Exports Drop 2 Percent in Third Quarter
 Minnesota exports of goods (including Figure 1. Export Growth for 21 States & D.C.
agricultural, mining and manufactured products)
were valued at $5.6 billion in the third quarter of
2019. The state’s exports dipped 2.2 percent,
while U.S. exports fell 1.7 percent between the
third quarters of 2018 and 2019.
 Minnesota manufactured exports fell 2.4 percent,
to $5.3 billion, in the third quarter of 2019, while
U.S. exports fell 2.3 percent. MN: -2%
 Between the first nine months of 2018 and 2019, U.S.: -2%
Minnesota exports shrank 1.8 percent, while U.S. Decline 0% Growth
exports decreased 1.2 percent.

Selected Growth Markets Bolster Exports In Midst of Widespread Declines

 Countermeasures on U.S. exports by trading partners (including by China, the EU and India), in retaliation to
current U.S. trade policies, continued to create uncertainty and influence trade flows.
 Exports weakened the most in Asia (down 4 percent to $2 billion; largely due to declines in China, Taiwan,
the Philippines and India) and in Central & South America (down 21 percent to $246 million; largely due to
declines to Brazil, Chile and Colombia). Sales to Canada, the U.K., Poland and Australia also struggled.
 Exports to Mexico (up $49 million), Thailand (up $22 million), Indonesia (up $18 million), France (up $16
million), the Netherlands (up $11 million) and Costa Rica (up $11 million) grew over $10 million.
 High-growth emerging markets included Uzbekistan (up $6.6 million), Kazakhstan (up $4.4 million),
Ethiopia (up $4.1 million), Morocco (up $3.9 million) and Cote d’Ivoire (up $3.1 million).
Figure 2. Exports and Trends Among Minnesota’s Top 10 Markets, Third Quarter 2019
 2
Upward Trends in Sales of Optics/Medical, Pharmaceuticals, Fertilizers, and Ores
 Optics and medical exports grew to China (up 18 percent), France (up 45 percent) and the Netherlands
(up 23 percent), but tumbled Canada (down 12 percent), Singapore (down 17 percent) and Australia
(down 19 percent). Orthopedic/artificial body parts (up 26 percent) and navigational instruments (up 84
percent) gained traction, while regulating instruments and material testing instruments lost ground.
 China (up 26 percent) and the U.K. (up 95 Figure 3. Major Markets for Pharmaceuticals
percent) accounted for half of the state’s
Other 23%
pharmaceutical exports. High-growth segments China 38%
were blood products (up 21 percent) and
medications (up 141 percent).
Singapore 4%
 Exports jumped in other chemical areas: fertilizers
(up 152 percent), organic chemicals (up 36 Netherlands 4%
percent) and inorganic chemicals (up 61 percent). Germany 6%
 Growth in iron ore was built on higher demand in Italy 6% U.K. 12%
Japan (up 26 percent) and Canada (up 4 percent). Japan 7%

 In agriculture and food areas, gains in meat, fats/oils, food by-products and other edible preparations
countered declines in cereals, prepared vegetables, oil seeds and prepared cereal/flour goods. Demand
strengthened in Thailand, Mexico and Canada but weakened in Chile, China, and the Philippines.
 Demand for electrical equipment and machinery plummeted in markets such as in China, Japan, the
Philippines and the U.K. Most impacted were centrifuges/filters, taps/valves and computers for
machinery; and integrated circuits, diodes/transistors and electrical capacitors for electrical equipment.
 Indonesia (up $18 million) and India (down $8 million) most influenced sales of wood pulp (up 21 percent).
 Glass ($38 million, up 30 percent) export growth was steered by Mexico (up 246 percent) and Germany
(up 148 percent); and by multi-walled insulated glass (up 27 percent) and glass fibers (up 36 percent).
 Sales of plastics faltered in larger (e.g. Mexico, China) and smaller (e.g. Poland, Brazil) markets. Affected
products included self-adhesive plates/sheets, miscellaneous plastics and vinyl chloride polymers.
 Mineral fuels exports dropped 39 percent, as petroleum- and coal-related fuels sales plunged to Canada.
Figure 4. Exports and Trends Among Minnesota’s Top 10 Products, Third Quarter 2019

Minnesota Quarterly Export Statistics is the most current resource available for tracking the state’s manufactured export trends and is
prepared for the Minnesota Trade Office (MTO) by the Department of Employment and Economic Development’s (DEED) Economic
Analysis Unit (Thu-Mai Ho-Kim). The quarterly and annual statistics reports primarily cover export data based on the Harmonized Tariff
System (Schedule B), collected by the U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) and distributed by IHS Maritime & Trade. Reports are
available on DEED’s website at “Export and Trade Statistics” (https://mn.gov/deed/data/export-stats/current-past/).