Metropolitan Tucson’s exports continue to slowly recover from the Great Recession, but Cochise County saw a more than $80 million drop from 2014 to 2015, new numbers from the U.S. Commerce Department show.
Overall, the International Trade Administration’s 2015 Metropolitan Area Export overview, released this week, shows good news for Arizona trade, which has trended upward after a 10-year low of $14 billion in 2009.
Here are some of the numbers:
- $22.6 billion — Arizona’s total exports continue to grow year-over-year, topping 2014’s $21.2 billion.
- $13.8 billion — More than half of Arizona’s total exports come from the Phoenix metropolitan statistical area, which has topped its pre-recession numbers. The metro area is in the Top 10 for export growth for 2015.
- $9.1 billion — The state’s most important export market continues to be Mexico, with steady growth over the last five years and about half a billion more export dollars reported between 2014 and 2015.
Attention statewide to strengthening the relationship with Mexico has helped move the numbers in the right direction, said Christina Parisi, director of U.S. Commercial Service-Arizona in Tucson.
“Those kinds of efforts do pay off, and as companies become more aware of market opportunities, more people get involved in exporting,” she said.
- $2.4 billion — Exports from the Tucson metropolitan statistical area grew 9.2 percent from 2014 — an improvement, but lower than the $2.5 billion in 2013. The drop in 2014 can be attributed to problems in the energy sector, Parisi said, as oil prices plummeted.
“Other states are more reliant on some of the energy exports, such as Texas for example, but we are also reliant on minerals and things like that,” she said.
- $551 million — Transportation equipment manufacturing accounts for 22 percent of Tucson’s exports, while computer and electronic product manufacturing ($335 million), fabricated metal product manufacturing ($308 million) and machinery manufacturing ($253 million) round out the top export categories.
The categories encompass many different technologies, Parisi said, but high-tech optics, medical devices, advance manufacturing, and robotics are big pieces of the local export puzzle.
“Tech and manufacturing-related products we hope to continue growing for a while, and that’s a good sign because those are good jobs,” she said.
- $340 million — Exports from the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro statistical area dropped from $425 million in 2014. Sluggishness in the mining sector and a strong dollar hurt the region overall but hit Cochise County especially hard.
Although this area has some large challenges, Parisi said she is optimistic that a focus on cybertechnology will help the region. She is also hopeful that the overall picture on exports will improve in 2016, as her clients report strong business so far.
“That’s what I’ve heard informally,” she said. “But I’ve heard that from a lot of people.”
