Hawaii: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for Hawaii's Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 0.8 percent of Hawaii's total private-sector employment. Approximately 1.4 percent of all manufacturing workers in Hawaii depend on exports for their jobs. (2006 data are the latest available.)

Note: Export-related employment data shown do not include manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs involved in the export of non-manufactured goods, such as farm products, minerals, and services sold to foreign buyers. Indirect exports exclude imported items. The complete 2006 export-related employment series is available on our Export Related Jobs pages. Additional information on methodology used in the export-related employment series can be found in the U.S. Census Bureau's publication Exports from Manufacturing Establishments: 2006.

Source: State Export-Related Employment Project, International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census.

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Exports Sustain Hundreds of Hawaii Businesses

A total of 632 companies exported from Hawaii locations in 2006. Eighty-seven percent of these companies (549), or more than four-fifths, were small and medium-sized enterprises, with fewer than 500 employees.

Small and medium-sized firms generated over two-fifths (43 percent) of Hawaii's total exports of merchandise in 2006. This is the seventh highest figure among the states, and is well above the national SME share of total exports of 29 percent.

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Exporter Database.

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Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in Hawaii

In 2006, foreign-controlled companies employed 28,500 workers in Hawaii. Major sources of Hawaii's foreign investment in 2006 were Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy.

Four percent, or 1,100 workers, were in the manufacturing sector in 2006.

Foreign-controlled companies accounted for 7.4 percent of total manufacturing employment in Hawaii in 2006.

Foreign investment in Hawaii was responsible for 5.6 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2006.

Note: All figures exclude employment in banks affiliated with foreign companies.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Hawaii Depends on World Markets

Hawaii's export shipments of merchandise in 2008 totaled $964 million, up 134 percent from the $412 million exported in 2004. That was the fifth largest growth among the 50 states since 2004.

The state's largest export market was Australia ($375 million), which was 39 percent of the total that year. Australia was followed by South Korea ($110 million), Japan ($98 million), China ($75 million) and Singapore ($75 million).

The state's leading export category in 2008 was transportation equipment, which accounted for 44 percent, or $420 million, of Hawaii's total merchandise exports. Other top exports were petroleum and coal products ($212 million), waste and scrap ($96 million) and computers and electronic products ($49 million).

Source: Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division.

Caution: The Origin of Movement series allocates exports to states based on transportation origin, i.e., the state from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a state should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement state export figures.

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Hawaii's Metropolitan Exports

In 2007, the metropolitan area of Honolulu exported $360 million in merchandise, 85 percent of Hawaii's total merchandise exports.

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Metropolitan Export Series.

Caution: The Origin of Movement zip-based series allocates exports to metropolitan areas based on transportation origin, i.e., the metropolitan area from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a metropolitan area should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement zip-based export figures.

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