Oregon Office of Economic Analysis

Given the Brookings Institution’s work with Portland MSA exports (see today’s Oregonian article for more), now is a good time to update and post our export graphs. The graphs below illustrate Oregon exports through the end of 2011. Just a reminder, our office’s quarterly forecast document (see the International Section) has updates on exports by industry and by country. Note that due to timing issues, the latest forecast did not have 2011q4 exports as the data was not released ahead of publication date, however the graphs below incorporate these new export figures.

The first graph shows total exports (blue line, left axis) and year-over-year growth (red line, right axis).

Given the state’s exports are dominated by high technology products, specifically computer and electronic products, the follow graphs compare these exports to all other industries. It is evident that although computer and electronic products have fallen in the past 18 months (according to the Oregonian article, a result of decreased machinery and equipment needed in new Intel factories in China), other industry exports have increased substantially so far this expansion and remain near all-time high levels.

The next graph takes a look at the top 5 industry exports for Oregon. Agriculture, Chemicals, Machinery and Transportation Equipment all have increased in recent years and are supporting Oregon exports.

Finally, the last graph shows exports to destination country. China remains the number one destination for Oregon exports, however exports to Canada have returned strongly after declining over 40 percent during the recession.