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South Carolina exports post strong growth in 2004
State exports rise 13.62%; $13.38 billion is new record
By Sarah G. McC. Moise
Staff Writer
South Carolina companies face intensifying competition for markets and customers around the world. But according to the latest export statistics from Global Trade Information Services, the Palmetto State is more than up to the challenge.
South Carolina exports were up 13.62% in 2004 as compared with 2003. The state sold $13.38 billion worth of goods to the rest of the world last year, compared with $11.8 billion in 2003, setting a new record for South Carolina exports.
Partly due to the efforts of the S.C. Department of Commerce, the state’s export growth rate was higher than the export growth rate for the United States as a whole, which came in at a gain of 13.01% over 2003.
South Carolina’s aggressive trade development program implemented by the department’s International Business Solutions team has provided support to assist medium-sized and smaller companies wanting to expand and participate in overseas markets.
“Our Business Solutions Team has helped companies launch or expand their export markets by providing assistance with trade missions, trade shows and by exposing South Carolina companies to new markets all around the world,” says Melissa McLeod, manager for International Trade for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In 2004, South Carolina maintained its position among the 50 states as the 18th largest exporter in total export value. The state also surpassed Puerto Rico in total export value for the first time since 1998.
South Carolina’s top 10 export industries last year were vehicles, machinery, plastics, rubber, paper and paperboard, organic chemicals, optical and medical equipment, cotton and yarn, fabrics, and wood pulp.
The product sector that led South Carolina’s export growth in 2004 was electrical machinery, which rose 70.2%. The other large industries (those posting $75 million or more in export sales) rounding out the top 10 fastest growing export sectors included cotton and yarn (up 63.6%), knitted fabrics (up 53.8%), organic chemicals (up 43.7%), meat (up 26.1%), wood (up 22.1%), machinery (up 19.7%), paper and paperboard (up 17.9%), iron and steel (up 17.5%), and rubber (up 16.4%).
“It’s heartening to note that our exports are growing in areas where we’re working to strengthen our industry clusters, such as chemicals and textiles,” says Commerce Sec. Bob Faith. “Healthy export figures indicate that the state is very competitive when it comes to winning in the global economy, and these numbers are terrific news as we work to increase the standard of living for South Carolina’s citizens.”
The destination of South Carolina’s exports continues to generate attention. After being overtaken by Germany last year for the first time since the United States started tracking exports by state in 1987, Canada regained its status in 2004 as the No.1 foreign destination for South Carolina goods. Canada received 21.07% of all state exports, with Germany at an extremely close second. In fact, South Carolina was the second largest U.S. state exporter to Germany in 2004, behind California.
Mexico jumped one ranking to No. 3, surpassing the United Kingdom, which fell to No. 4. Strong export growth to the Netherlands allowed that country to place ahead of Japan this year at No. 5.
Of particular interest is China, which jumped two spots in 2004 to No. 6. Huge increases in Chinese demand for foreign goods and resources resulted in yet another year of surging exports from South Carolina to China, with an increase of 67.61%. To put this trend in perspective, in 2000 China was the 14th largest foreign consumer of South Carolina goods; now that country is one of the state’s largest and fastest growing export markets.
“China’s purchasing power is increasing and they’re becoming increasingly more exposed to Western products. And as great a producer as they are, China is also a tremendous consumer and is not very self sufficient,” says McLeod. While textiles and high end machinery were some of their largest purchases from South Carolina, soybeans also topped the product list because China can’t grow enough food to support all of its citizens, she says.
Textiles, high-end machinery and soybeans are some of the products China has purchased from South Carolina companies in the past year. With the S.C. Department of Commerce’s new office in Shanghai, the state expects to see even bigger results in coming months. Gregory Guest, manager for international trade for Asia Pacific markets, will be taking some South Carolina companies to China in June.
Rounding out the top 10 receivers of South Carolina goods in 2004 were Japan, Belgium, Australia and France.
“We hope to continue growth in developing countries such as South Africa and Chile, which are markets we are exposing South Carolina companies to through business matchmaking missions this May,” McLeod adds.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Korea, Turkey, India, Vietnam and the Czech Republic were among other top countries seeing large increases in goods imported from South Carolina in 2004.
The Business Solutions Division provides resources to help South Carolina businesses, large and small, compete in the global economy by identifying new markets and sales opportunities for South Carolina firms through trade events and one-on-one counseling. The international trade staff responded to more than 350 export inquiries, helping to generate $50 million in new sales in 2004.
“All this means we are accomplishing our mission, which is to create more wealth for South Carolina companies and increase the prosperity and job security of our citizens through exports,” says McLeod.
Sarah Moise is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at smoise@crbj.com.
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