Area Merchandise Exports Increased More Than 20 Percent Last Year
Area Merchandise Exports Increased More Than 20 Percent Last Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. â The US Department of Commerceâs International Trade Administration (ITA) announced new export data that shows the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metropolitan areaâs merchandise exports increased by $2 billion â 20.5 percent between 2010 and 2011 â growing from $9.3 to $11.3 billion.
Key merchandise export categories for the Bridgeport metropolitan area in 2011 included crop production, chemicals, transportation equipment, primary metal manufacturing, machinery, and mining. Top markets included China, the Netherlands, South Korea, Nigeria, and Turkey.
âExports are an increasingly important part of the Bridgeport metro areaâs economy as local businesses both big and small continue to look beyond our borders to increase their customer base,â said Francisco Sánchez, Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade. âThe growth in exports from the Bridgeport metro area is helping to support good jobs throughout the region.â
According to international trade figures recently released by the International Trade Administration, 150 US metropolitan areas (40.9 percent) exported more than $1 billion in merchandise to the world in 2011; and 11 of these metropolitan areas exported merchandise worth more than $25 billion.
A total of 308 metropolitan areas (83.9 percent of reported MSAs) around the country recorded positive growth in area exports between 2010 and 2011.
âExports are key to growing our economy, and jobs supported by manufactured exports pay up to 18 percent higher wages, on average, than those not related to shipping across borders,â said Anne Evans, director of the US Commercial Service in Connecticut. âWe encourage more Connecticut companies to take advantage of international opportunities to avoid missing out on some real potential demand for their products or services.â
ITA works with American businesses to identify export opportunities for their products and to support the Presidentâs National Export Initiative, which aims to double US exports by the end of 2014, and has a specific focus on helping metropolitan areas identify regional strengths in order to increase their exports.
For more information on the impact of MSAs on US exports, including fact sheets for the top 50 exporting MSAs in 2011, visit trade.gov. For more information on exporting, contact the US Commercial Service in Middletown at 860-638-6950 or visit www.export.gov/connecticut.