by Damon Runberg, Business Oregon Economist

There has been a lot of extra attention on Oregon trade in the last few months. To get a better understanding of the importance of trade to Oregon’s economy and how future trade wars may impact the state, let’s look at trade patterns over the last few years. 

In 2024 Oregon ranked 20th for exports, which is a relatively high share considering Oregon’s rank as the 26th largest economy (based on total employment). The reasons behind this disproportionally high ranking are due to Oregon sharing a border with the Pacific Ocean, allowing access to markets through our various ports. It is also worth noting that not all products that are exported out of Oregon ports originate from Oregon businesses. Many goods are transported to Oregon from neighboring states and then sent out across the world.

Oregon saw a large increase in exports in 2024 (+23%, ~$6.3 billion), however that increase was coming off a poor export year in 2023. The 2024 export levels were largely consistent with levels in 2022, which was a record year for Oregon exports. The sharp increase in 2024 export activity was caused by a notable uptick in exports to China, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The commodities that contributed to this uptick were primarily electronics and machinery—most of that related to the semiconductor industry. However, there was also notable increased exports of fertilizers and cereals.

The other side of the trade coin, imports, also posted notable increases in 2024 from levels in 2023 (+45%, ~$8.8 billion). As with exports, these gains in 2024 largely got the state back in line with the record levels in 2022. These increased imports were coming from Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, and Israel. Once again, the semiconductor industry was the major player in the increase in imports, but there was also a notable uptick in vehicle and apparel imports.

There are some interesting patterns around what we send out (exports) versus what we receive (imports). Let’s focus first on our most important trade partners for our exports. If we look at the 3-year average of trade activity, China accounts for roughly 20% of all export activity out of Oregon. Not far behind is Mexico with 19% of exports over the last 3 years. After that, there is a notable drop off with Canada coming in at 11% and Malayasia at 10% of total Oregon exports. Roughly 4% of Oregon exports are each sent to Ireland, Vietnam, and Japan. 

What are we exporting out of the state? Electrical products and machinery are the major driver of Oregon exports accounting for 50% of all exports over the last 3 years. As was mentioned earlier, this is largely tied to the semiconductor industry, more specifically the impact of Intel. Other major exports include vehicles and vehicle parts (largely sent to Mexico) at 15% of total exports. Medical and surgical products (4%), fertilizers (4%), wood products (4%), and agriculture-related cereals—not the breakfast item (2%), make up the remaining large exports.

Besides sending out products to foreign nations, we also import a significant amount of goods from other nations. Over the last 3 years, roughly 18% of our imports came each from Japan and Canada, followed by China (10%), Taiwan (9%), Korea (7%), and Israel (4.5%). I may sound like a broken record, but the electrical products and machinery sector tied to semiconductors is the largest import into Oregon ports (43% of total imports). That is followed by vehicle imports (15%) that largely come into the Port of Portland. A notable share of imports also includes medical and surgical instruments (5%) and fertilizers (4%).

It may seem strange to see some of the commodities that we heavily export also show up high on our import list, but this helps to show the global nature of many of our supply chains. Components/intermediary goods are imported that are used in the development of finished goods here in Oregon or across the U.S. Those finished goods are then exported overseas for consumption in other markets. The trade sector is a complicated maze where we rely on our trade partners for access to materials, goods, and markets to ensure that Oregonians have the products they need and the best opportunity to grow their businesses globally. 

reposted from: https://www.oregon.gov/biz/aboutus/blog/Pages/default.aspx