Governor Brian Schweitzer announced this week a near record high total of $1.96 billion for Montana’s combined bulk wheat and manufactured exports. This is a 33 percent increase over 2009 figures, making 2010 the second highest export year following Montana’s record high peak of $2.06 billion in 2008.
Montana’s exports continue to show exceptional growth in the worldwide market, said Governor Schweitzer. “We have seen significant export growth to countries like Korea, where our coal exports have increased 145 percent from 2009 to 2010. That increase represents over $80 million in business for Montana. This is positive news for our producers, manufacturers and our overall economy.”
The Republic of Korea is now one of Montana’s top export markets, moving to second place in 2010, up from fifth in 2009. Korea’s appetite for commodities and manufactured exports like coal, inorganic chemicals and industrial machinery pushed 2010 export totals to $186.8 million. This is an increase of 141 percent above 2009 figures.
2010 MONTANA EXPORT FAST FACTS
Total – $1.96 Billion in Combined Exports
(Up 33% from 2009)
Top 10 Countries Buying Montana Products* (in millions of dollars)
#1 Canada, $539.7
#2 Republic of Korea, $186.8
#3 China (Mainland), $122.9
#4 Japan, $109.8
#5 China (Taiwan), $93.5
#6 Mexico, $79.9
#7 United Kingdom, $37.3
#8 Germany, $25.6
#9 Belgium, $24.8
#10 Netherlands, $18.5
*These figures do not include bulk wheat exports
Top 20 Exports from Montana (in millions of dollars)
#1 Bulk Wheat, $541.1
#2 Inorganic Chemicals, $376.6
#3 Industrial Machinery (including computers), $212.9
#4 Mineral Fuel, Oil etc., $210.9
#5 Vehicles, Parts etc., $98.2
#6 Aircraft, Parts etc., $80.3
#7 Salt; Sulfur; Earth & Stone, $61.5
#8 Organic Chemicals, $53.6
#9 Ores, Slag & Ash, $42.7
#10 Optic, Medical or Surgical Instruments, $31.9
#11 Cereals, $26.6
#12 Wood & Articles of Wood, $25.6
#13 Pharmaceutical Products, $22.7
#14 Bakers Wares (cereal, flour, starch or milk), $20.0
#15 Electric Machinery, $19.5
#16 Misc Chemical Products, $19.1
#17 Live Animals, $15.3
#18 Food Industry Residues (Prep Animal Feed), $10.5
#19 Musical Instruments (Parts & Accessories), $8.9
#20 Edible Vegetables, $8.7
Where Montana Wheat Goes
In 2010, Montana sent 102 million bushels of wheat to exporting facilities on the U.S. west coast. According to the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, the bulk of these shipments were sent to Japan with secondary markets being Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia. (Roughly 70-80 percent of all Montana wheat is exported to Asia.)
Additional Export Info
Canada remained the state’s largest export partner with $541.1 million in combined exports followed by the Republic of Korea ($187.0 mil), China (Mainland) ($123.0 mil), Japan ($110.0 mil) and Taiwan ($93.0) respectively to round out the state’s top five export partner countries. There was an overall increase of commodity exports of more than 100 percent to partner countries which included the Republic of Korea, China (Mainland) and Mexico from 2009 – 2010.
Montana exported 17.5 million more bushels of bulk wheat in 2010 than in 2009.
Inorganic Chemicals was the top manufactured export commodity with $376.6 million in combined exports. The category includes, but is not limited to, copper oxides and silicon. The second ranked category of manufactured exports includes fabrication machines used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices with $212.9 million in exports.
Aircraft & parts increased 370 percent to bring in $80.3 million back to the state’s economy with $70 million of that being exported to Canada. (This commodity export category was not previously exported until 2004.)
Mineral fuel exports increased 140 percent from 2009 – 2010. This category includes (but is not limited to) coal, oil from petrol and bitum minerals, petroleum coke, petroleum bitumen, petroleum gases, and crude oil from petroleum and bituminous minerals.
Agriculture exports continued the export increase trends with cereals, live animals and prepared animal feed commodities all increasing over 200 percent and brining a combined total of $52.4 million back to Montana’s economy.
Export Outlook
To date, 2011 figures are on pace to surpass 2010 near record export totals and are currently up 24 percent from Feb 2010 YTD totals. (These figures represent manufactured exports only. Bulk wheat figures are not included and are factored in separately.)
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