Facts & Figures

International trade means a more prosperous Alabama. Alabama companies export over $14 billion a year in goods and services, and support over 100,000 jobs. The majority of companies that export from Alabama are small and medium sized businesses.

Job Creation

Trade supported nearly 530,000 jobs in Alabama in 2008, or 20% of total jobs, up from 9.3% in 1992.¹
One-fifth (20.7%) of all manufacturing workers in Alabama depended on exports for their jobs.²
In 2008, 78,000 people in Alabama were employed by U.S. affiliates of companies that are at least 50% foreign-owned.³

Exports and Growth

Alabama exported $15.5 billion in merchandise to foreign markets in 2010. Alabama’s largest market in 2010 was Canada ($3.2 billion), followed by China ($1.9 billion), Germany ($1.8 billion), Mexico ($1.1 billion), and Brazil ($662 million).⁴
In 2008, around 2,800 companies exported goods from Alabama. Of these, 81% were small- and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
Agricultural exports are important to Alabama’s economy, totaling more than $860 million and supporting about 11,000 jobs in 2009.⁵
Since 2007, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has financed over $225 million in exports from 40 companies in 17 communities in Alabama.⁶
Since 1971, Overseas Private Investment Corporation has invested over $195 million in companies throughout Alabama.⁷

Education and Research

In 2008–2009, more than 2,100 Alabama students studied abroad, a 5.58% increase over the previous academic year.⁸
During 2009–2010, close to 6400 international students were enrolled in Alabama colleges and universities and contributed nearly $123 million to the Alabama economy.⁹

Global Engagement

Since 1961,1,000 Peace Corps volunteers from Alabama have served in dozens of countries overseas.¹⁰
Support from U.S. government grants and contracts to private voluntary organizations engaged in foreign assistance and development in Alabama totaled almost $50 million in 2008.¹¹

http://businessroundtable.org/uploads/studies-reports/downloads/Trade_and_American_Jobs.pdf
http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/
http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2010/11%20November/1110_us_ops.pdf
http://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/
http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/WTO/states.html
https://webappsprod01.exim.gov/apps/usmap/usmap.nsf
http://www.opic.gov/sites/default/files/docs/OPIC_local_impact.pdf
http://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/Fact-Sheets-by-US-State
http://www.nafsa.org/publicpolicy/default.aspx?id=23158
http://multimedia.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/homestates.pdf
http://www.pvo.net/usaid/