A World Trade Snapshot

Asked to name top state imports, we might say cars. For Wisconsin though the right answer is sweaters.

A second surprise? Medicine is #1 on Washington D.C.’s import list.

The Ins and Outs of Trade

On a state-by-state basis, the maps that follow give us a quick picture of the merchandise part of U.S. trade. You’ll also be able to see how imports relate to exports.

For example (below in bright pink), South Dakota and Nebraska import beef and cattle while they export processed food. Similarly, airplane part imports are used in the aircraft that Washington (state) exports. And in Idaho and New Mexico, their computer chip imports were used in the computers they export.

Top State Imports (2015)

Top State Import Partners (2015)

Top State Exports (2015)

Top State Export Partners (2015)

In case you need to identify a state…

Our Bottom Line: The Bigger Picture

A snapshot of U.S. trade focuses on Canada and China as our biggest import partners and Canada and Mexico for our exports.

Let’s conclude though with the world’s exports to see how they relate to the U.S. Like our U.S. maps, services are excluded:

I’ve enlarged the map’s key:

The world’s exports:

From: World Economic Forum

My sources and more: Combined, Fixr, Mark Perry’s blog, and WEForum provide a snapshot of world trade. But for lists of U.S. trade data, the BLS has it all. Also though I recommend taking a look here and here.