Louisiana: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for Louisiana's Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 5.7 percent of Louisiana's total private-sector employment. Nearly one-seventh (13.1 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Louisiana 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 Thousands of Louisiana Businesses

A total of 2,371 companies exported goods from Louisiana locations in 2006. Of those, 1,998 (84 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with fewer than 500 employees.

SMEs generated over one-third (35 percent) of Louisiana's total exports of merchandise in 2006.

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

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Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in Louisiana

In 2006, foreign-controlled companies employed 49,700 workers in Louisiana. Major sources of Louisiana's foreign investment in 2006 were Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Canada.

Slightly less than one-third of these jobs (30 percent, or 14,700 workers) were in the manufacturing sector in 2006.

Foreign-controlled companies accounted for nearly one-tenth (9.6 percent) of total manufacturing employment in Louisiana in 2006.

Foreign investment in Louisiana was responsible for 3.2 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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Louisiana Depends on World Markets

Louisiana's export shipments of goods in 2008 totaled $41.9 billion, up 38 percent. from the 2007 total of $30.3 billion. Louisiana ranked ninth among the states in terms of merchandise exports in 2008. Louisiana increased its merchandise exports $22.0 billion (110 percent) from 2004 to 2008, the seventh largest dollar figure and ninth highest percentage growth among the 50 states over that period.

The state's largest market in 2008 was Mexico, which received exports of $3.5 billion. Mexico was followed by China ($3.5 billion), Japan ($3.2 billion), the Netherlands ($2.2 billion) and Canada ($2.1 billion).

Among manufactured products, the state's leading export category in 2008 was petroleum and coal products, which alone accounted for $10.0 billion, or almost one-quarter (24 percent) of Louisiana's total merchandise exports. Other top manufactured exports that year were chemical manufactures (2008 exports of $7.1 billion), processed foods ($3.7 billion), and machinery manufactures ($1.3 billion).

Louisiana is also a major supplier of agricultural products. In 2008, Louisiana's exports of agricultural products totaled $15.8 billion, which alone accounted for 38 percent of the state's total merchandise exports.

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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Louisiana's Metropolitan Exports

In 2007, the metropolitan area of New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner exported $8.4 billion in merchandise, 53 percent of Louisiana's total merchandise exports. Other major metropolitan areas in Louisiana that exported in 2007 included Baton Rouge ($3.3 billion), Lake Charles ($1.3 billion), Shreveport-Bossier City ($553 million), and Lafayette ($587 million).

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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