South Dakota: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for South Dakota's Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 3.1 percent of South Dakota's total private-sector employment. Over one-ninth (11.9 percent) of all manufacturing workers in South Dakota 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 South Dakota Businesses

A total of 514 companies exported goods from South Dakota locations in 2006. Of those, 413 (80 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with fewer than 500 employees.

SMEs generated 32 percent of South Dakota's total exports of merchandise in 2006, 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 South Dakota

In 2005, foreign-controlled companies employed 7,100 workers in South Dakota. Major sources of South Dakota's jobs in 2005 were Canada, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

More than half of these foreign-investment-supported jobs (51 percent, or 3,600 workers) were in the manufacturing sector in 2005. Foreign-controlled companies accounted for 8.9 percent of total manufacturing employment in South Dakota in 2005.

Foreign investment in South Dakota was responsible for 2.2 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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South Dakota Depends on World Markets

South Dakota's export shipments of merchandise in 2007 totaled $1.5 billion. South Dakota's export shipments grew 124 percent from 2003 to 2007, the sixth biggest percentage gain among the states. By comparison, the total US increase in merchandise exports over this period was 61 percent.

South Dakota exported to 122 foreign destinations in 2007. The state's largest export market, by far, was our NAFTA trading partner Canada. South Dakota exported $570 million worth of merchandise to the Canadian market in 2007, 38 percent of the state's export total that year. Canada was followed by NAFTA partner Mexico (2007 exports of $239 million), Thailand ($150 million), Hong Kong ($109 million), and Germany ($50 million).

Among manufactured products, South Dakota's leading export category is computers and electronic products. This category accounted for $408 million, or over one-fourth (27 percent) of South Dakota's total merchandise exports in 2007. South Dakota's other top manufactured exports in 2007 were processed foods ($388 million), machinery manufactures ($201 million), and transportation equipment ($122 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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South Dakota's Metropolitan Exports

In 2006, the metropolitan area of Rapid City exported $149 million in merchandise, 18 percent of South Dakota's total merchandise exports. The metropolitan area of Sioux Falls also exported $115 million in merchandise in 2006. Another metropolitan area exporter that included some counties of South Dakota was Sioux City (including some counties in Iowa and Nebraska as well) which exported $542 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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