Washington State’s Tech Exports Increase for Sixth Consecutive Year
Washington High-Tech Exports Total $3.5 Billion in 2008
Seattle, WA (October 20, 2009) TechAmerica Foundation today released its annual report detailing state trends in the international trade of high-tech goods. The report, Trade in the Cyberstates 2009: A State-by-State Overview of High-Tech International Trade, includes statistics and trend data for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Highlights in the report for Washington State include a sixth consecutive year of growth in tech exports and a top-five ranking in the export of consumer electronics.
High-tech exports from Washington State grew by $153 million, or five percent, from 2007 to 2008. Washington's tech exports have grown steadily every year since 2002, increasing by 66 percent from 2002 to 2008. Washington ranked fifth nationwide for consumer electronics exports, which totaled $320 million.
"Not surprisingly, when most people think of Washington’s high-tech economy they think primarily of our strong software industry," said Ken Meyer, CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association. "But Washington’s tech manufacturing exports have been steadily growing for six straight years. These exports support 17,900 jobs in the state. For this positive trend to continue, policymakers in Olympia need to ensure that Washington State remains a business-friendly environment. And as a state we need to press Congress and the Administration to work together to pass the Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea that could further expand overseas market access for Washington’s high-tech products."
Nationally, Trade in the Cyberstates 2009 shows that U.S. high-tech goods exports rose by one percent in 2008, reaching $223 billion, representing 17 percent of all U.S. exports to the world. High-tech imports were down by less than one percent, totaling $336 billion in 2008, resulting in a slight improvement in the high-tech trade deficit, which stands at $114 billion. High-tech exports supported 1,158,000 jobs in the United States.
TechAmerica Foundation’s supplemental quarterly breakdown reveals that despite the gains in 2008, high-tech exports had begun to decline in the 4th quarter, and continued in the first half of 2009. High-tech exports were down 8 percent in Q4 2008 compared to Q4 2007. The drop steepened with a 22 percent decline in Q1 2009 and a 23 percent decline in Q2 2009 compared to their respective quarters in 2008. This tracks closely with the overall decline in U.S. merchandise exports in the first half of 2009.
Trade in the Cyberstates 2009 provides a comprehensive review of international trade of high-tech goods at the national and state-by-state level. The report provides overview pages for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These "snapshot" pages highlight historical high-tech export trends, exports by individual tech sector, and leading export destinations.
This report is a partner publication to TechAmerica Foundation's other two annual cyber publications, Cyberstates and Cybercities, which provide data on high-tech jobs, wages, payroll, and other factors at the state and metropolitan levels.
Trade in the Cyberstates 2009 and its sister publications can be purchased for $150. Visit www.techamerica.org/publications to purchase the reports.
What Does High-Tech Trade Mean for Washington?
- $3.5 billion in high-tech exports (15th ranked cyberstate)
- Up $153 million in tech exports between 2007 and 2008
- Six percent of exports from Washington are tech exports (ranked 40th)
- 17,900 jobs in Washington are supported by tech exports
Washington’s Leading Tech Export Destinations:
- $534 million in tech exports to Canada
- $301 million in tech exports to Taiwan
- $291 million in tech exports to the Netherlands
Washington’s Leading Tech Export Sectors:
- 5th in consumer electronics exports at $320 million
- 9th in electromedical equipment exports at $885 million
- 11th in photonics exports at $68 million
Source: Trade in the Cyberstates 2009
Data are for 2008.
Published by TechAmerica Foundation, sister organization of TechAmerica – Where the Future Begins (www.techamerica.org)
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About TechAmerica Foundation
TechAmerica Foundation educates industry executives, policy makers and opinion leaders on the promise of technological innovation to advance prosperity, security and the general welfare. Launched in 1981, the foundation is a 501c(3) non-profit, non-partisan affiliate of TechAmerica, the leading voice and resource for the U.S. technology industry. It disseminates award-winning industry, policy and market research covering topics such as U.S. competitiveness in a global economy, innovation in government, and other areas of national interest. The foundation also organizes conferences and seminars to explore pertinent issues with government and industry representatives and to share the foundation’s findings.
About the Washington Technology Industry Association
The Washington Technology Industry Association, founded in 1984, is the largest statewide association of technology companies, IT departments and individual technology professionals in North America. With more than 1,000 member companies representing more than 100,000 employees in Washington State, the association is a catalyst for sharing expertise, fostering collaboration, delivering key business services and advancing the value and global impact of technology companies doing business in Washington. The association’s global partners are Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Microsoft, Regence BlueShield, Vertafore and Wells Fargo Insurance Services. The association’s funding partners are AH&T Insurance, F5 Networks, Moss Adams and RealNetworks. For more information, go to www.washingtontechnology.org.
Contact:
Kevin Pedraja
Sterling Communications for WTIA
206-388-5758
kpedraja@sterlingpr.com