EXPORTS
Given the state’s large share of production of globally traded goods and commodities, export
markets have always been an important source of demand for West Virginia. They have accounted
for a growing share of the state’s economic output over the past decade or so and also served to
buoy the state’s economy during the Great Recession.
Export activity deteriorated markedly in the past few years, falling 51 percent from its 2012 peak to
2015. Even with this decline, the dollar value of exports still represented the equivalent of 8 percent
of state economic output in 2015.
Graph 2.20
WV Exports
Graph 2.22
Figure 2.22: Top 10 Export Commodities, 2015
Top 10 Export Commodities, 2015
Figure 2.20: West Virginia Exports
14
Billions of $
9.0
7.7
8
7.0
6.3
6
5.3
4.0
3.0
2.9
2.9
4.5
3.8
3.8
3.0
2
5.8
4.9
Share of Total West
Virginia Exports (%)
1,722 29.6%
527 9.1%
Flywheels and Pulleys 517 8.9%
Aluminum Alloy Plates 206 3.5%
Civilian Aircraft, Engines, and Parts 184 3.2%
Polyamides 181 3.1%
Polysulfides 151 2.6%
Artificial Joints, Parts & Accessories 119 2.0%
Polyacetals 111 1.9%
Polyesters (NESOI) 98 1.7%
5,815 -
All Export Commodities
0
Export Value
(millions of $) Gears and Related Parts
Bituminous Coal
9.6
10
4
Exports Commodity
11.9
12
Source: US Census Bureau
Source: International Trade Administration
*Note: Data are adjusted for inflation and expressed in 2015 dollars; 2016 is a projection
SOURCE: International Trade Administration
Graph 2.21
WV Top Five Exporting Industries
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau
Graph 2.23
Figure 2.23: Top Destination Countries for West Virginia Exports
Top Destination Countries for WV Exports, 2015
Exports Destination Country
Export Value
(millions of $)
Percent change
2012-2015
$1,755 -2%
China $456 -49%
Netherlands $401 -58%
Japan $325 -58%
Brazil $308 -55%
India $223 -70%
Ukraine $221 -38%
United Kingdom $212 -63%
Belgium $211 -36%
Germany $190 -45%
Canada
Source: US International Trade Administration
SOURCE: International Trade Administration
78
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
SOURCE: International Trade Administration