Connecticut set a new record for exporting goods and services in 2013, one of just 16 states to do so. Connecticut is also punching above its weight in the value of the goods it sends abroad.
The US Department of Commerce released state-by-state data for exporting last year -- Connecticut sold $16.48 billion worth of goods, up from $15.96 billion last year. Aerospace has long been a mainstay of Connecticut manufacturing, but Anne Evans, who runs the Commerce Department's office in Middletown, says what's especially heartening about the figures is that its not just jet engines that are doing well. "We're seeing manufacturing and that's what's really exciting," she said. "The companies that are selling parts and equipment that go into oil and gas. We're seeing companies that are doing medical devices. We're seeing companies that are doing general processing of manufacturing parts. So it's all across the board, which means that all types of companies, everyone is doing better."
Evans is a tireless promoter of Connecticut companies abroad; when we spoke with her she had just stepped off a 10-hour bus trip from Canada where she was showcasing Connecticut products in Toronto. She says the other remarkable aspect of the figures is that the state ranks 26th in the nation in the absolute value of the goods it exports. "When you look at Connecticut, which is really one percent of the national population, doing a huge amount of exporting in comparison to other states. So not only are we growing, but we're already doing more per capita than most states."
France is Connecticut's biggest trading partner, followed by Canada and Germany.
