Kansas: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for Kansas Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 7.5 percent of Kansas' total private-sector employment. Nearly one-quarter (23.6 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Kansas depend on exports for their jobs, the seventh highest figure among the 50 states. (2005 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 2005 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: 2003.

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

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Exports Sustain Thousands of Kansas Businesses

A total of 2,081 companies exported goods from Kansas locations in 2006. Of those, 1,744 (84 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises, with fewer than 500 employees.

Small and medium-sized firms generated nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of Kansas' 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 Kansas

In 2005, foreign-controlled companies employed 32,900 workers in Kansas. Major sources of Kansas' foreign investment in 2005 were the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, France, and Switzerland.

Almost two-fifths of these jobs (39 percent, or 12,700 workers) were in the manufacturing sector in 2005.

Foreign-controlled companies accounted for 7.0 percent of total manufacturing employment in Kansas in 2005.

Foreign investment in Kansas was responsible for 2.9 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2005.

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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Kansas Depends on World Markets

Kansas' export shipments of merchandise in 2007 totaled $10.2 billion. Kansas' export shipments increased by 125 percent ($5.7 billion) between 2003 and 2007. That was the fourth largest percentage increase among the 50 states over that period.

Kansas exported to 191 foreign destinations in 2007. The state's largest export market, by far, was NAFTA member Canada. Kansas exported $2.4 billion worth of merchandise to Canada in 2007, 24 percent of the state total for 2007. Canada was followed by fellow NAFTA nation Mexico ($916 million), Germany ($616 million), the United Kingdom ($593 million) and China ($489 million).

The state's leading export category was transportation equipment, which accounted for $3.7 billion, or 36 percent, of Kansas' total merchandise exports in 2007. Other top manufactured exports were processed foods ($1.4 billion), computers and electronic products ($1.2 billion), and machinery manufactures ($898 million).

Source: 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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Kansas' Metropolitan Exports

In 2006, the metropolitan area of Wichita exported $5.3 billion in merchandise, 53 percent of Kansas' total merchandise exports. Other major metropolitan areas in Kansas that exported merchandise in 2006 included Topeka ($366 million), and Lawrence ($62 million). Two major metropolitan area exporters include some counties in Kansas. Kansas City (including some parts of Missouri) exported $5.7 billion, while St. Joseph (including some parts of Missouri) exported $325 million in merchandise in 2006.

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

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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