Florida’s Tech Exports Grow by Over $1 Billion
TechAmerica Foundation today released its annual report detailing national and state trends in the international trade of high-tech goods. The report, Cyberstates 2009: A State-by-State Overview of High-Tech International Trade, covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
In 2008, Florida exported over $14 billion in high-tech products overseas, making it the third largest tech exporter in the nation. Overall, the state saw high-tech exports rise by $1.1 billion in 2008, a nine percent increase. Brazil was the largest destination for these exports, buying $2.2 billion in tech goods in 2008. Florida’s largest single tech sector was computers and peripheral equipment, which had $5 billion of exports in 2008.
"High-tech exports continue to be a boon to the Florida economy,” said Todd Rader, CEO, Avancent Consulting. “Many people – even within the state – would be surprised to learn that one quarter of all exports from the Sunshine State are high-tech products. We serve as a gateway for shipping technology products to Latin America. All Floridians need to be pressing Congress to pass the Free Trade Agreements with Colombia and Panama, as Florida has the most to gain from opening those markets.”
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/trade to purchase the reports.
What Does High-Tech Trade Mean for Florida?
* $14.2 billion in high-tech exports (3rd ranked cyberstate)
* Up $1.1 billion in tech exports between 2007 and 2008
* 26 percent of exports from Florida are tech exports (ranked 13th)
* 92,200 jobs in Florida are supported by tech exports
Florida’s Leading Tech Export Destinations
* $2.2 billion in tech exports to Brazil
* $1.6 billion in tech exports to Venezuela
* $1.0 billion in tech exports to Paraguay
Florida’s Leading Tech Export Sectors:
* 2nd in photonics exports at $409 million
* 3rd in computers and peripheral equipment exports at $5.0 billion
* 3rd in communications equipment exports at $3.7 billion
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)
