Montana: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for Montana's Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 1.3 percent of Montana's total private-sector employment. Over one-twelfth (8.8 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Montana depend on exports for their jobs. (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 Hundreds of Montana Businesses

A total of 691 companies exported goods from Montana locations in 2006. Of those, 601 (87 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with fewer than 500 employees.

SMEs generated more than half (62 percent) of Montana's total exports of merchandise in 2006. That was the second highest percentage among the 50 states, and well above the national average of 29 percent.

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

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Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in Montana

In 2005, foreign-controlled companies employed 6,700 workers in Montana. Major sources of Montana's foreign investment in 2005 were the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Japan, and Switzerland.

Nearly one-eighth of these jobs (12 percent, or 800 workers) were in the manufacturing sector in 2005.

Foreign-controlled companies accounted for 4.0 percent of total manufacturing employment in Montana in 2005.

Foreign investment in Montana was responsible for 1.9 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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Montana Depends on World Markets

Montana's export shipments of merchandise in 2007 totaled $1.1 billion. Montana's exports increased by 213 percent over 2003 levels, the largest percentage increase among the 50 states.

Montana exported to 121 foreign destinations in 2007. The state's largest market in 2007, by far, was NAFTA member Canada, which received goods exports of $585 million (52 percent of Montana's total exports that year). Canada was followed by Japan ($102 million), Germany ($59 million), Taiwan ($52 million) and China ($44 million).

Montana's leading manufactured export category is chemical manufactures, which alone accounted for $261 million, or 23 percent, of Montana's total export shipments in 2007. Other top manufactured exports included machinery manufactures ($172 million), transportation equipment ($122 million), and primary metal manufactures ($97 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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Montana's Metropolitan Exports

In 2006, the metropolitan area of Billings exported $75 million in merchandise, 9 percent of Montana's total merchandise exports. Other major metropolitan areas in Montana that exported in 2006 included Great Falls ($37 million), and Missoula ($20 million).

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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