Employees at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky applaud the first 2019 Lexus ES 350 to roll off the line at the company’s production plant in Georgetown.
Kentucky exports reached an all-time high in 2018 for the fourth consecutive year, with $31.76 billion in goods and services shipped abroad from the commonwealth. The state’s total exports increased by 2.9 percent over the previous year, the governor’s office announced this month.
“Once again, Kentucky’s record-setting exports highlight the momentous economic progress we have achieved in recent years,” Governor Matt Bevin said in a release announcing the record exports. “Our rapidly expanding trade is the result of steps we have taken to create a robust business climate and to market Kentucky excellence to a global audience. The quality of Kentucky-made products is unmatched, and more and more people around the world discover this fact every year. We have cultivated some outstanding international relationships over the past three years, and we will continue these efforts as we build upon our commonwealth’s strong and dynamic reputation.”
Consistent with the past several years, aerospace products and parts took top-category honors in 2018, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Foreign Trade Bureau and WISERTrade. The industry shipped nearly $12.5 billion in products to other countries last year, a 7.1-percent increase over 2017. Aerospace-related exports skyrocketed more than 60 percent since 2014, when the industry sent about $7.8 billion in products and parts across borders.
Motor vehicles (more than $3.1 billion in exports), pharmaceuticals and medicines (nearly $2.3 billion), motor vehicle parts (about $1.5 billion) and resin, synthetic rubber and artificial and synthetic fibers and filament (more than $1 billion) rounded out the top five categories.
Pharmaceutical exports, in particular, rose significantly in 2018, increasing 22.4 percent over the previous year. The industry has nearly doubled its export totals since 2014, when Kentucky shipped out more than $1.2 billion of pharmaceuticals and medicines.
Canada retained its spot as Kentucky’s top export destination, importing more than $7.7 billion in goods and services. France (more than $3.3 billion) jumped to second on the list, with Kentucky increasing exports to the country by nearly 13 percent as compared to 2017.
The United Kingdom (nearly $3 billion), Brazil (nearly $2.5 billion) and Mexico (about $2.3 billion) make up the rest of Kentucky’s top five 2018 export destinations. China, after making a drastic leap in 2017 to become Kentucky’s No. 4 trade partner – its first year ever as a top-five export destination for the state – imported the sixth most Kentucky products by dollar value (nearly $2.2 billion) in 2018.
Kentucky ranked 17th in exports among all states and Washington D.C., despite having just the 26th largest state population in the nation.
Kentucky ranked 17th in exports among all states and Washington D.C., despite having just the 26th largest state population in the nation.
Kentucky businesses can learn more about export opportunities and make connections with export markets through the Kentucky Export Initiative. KEI brings together a coalition of business organizations, trade experts and government entities, including the Cabinet for Economic Development, with a focus on increasing Kentucky exports to create new jobs and diversified markets for the state’s products. For more information on KEI, check online at http://www.KYExports.com.