West Virginia: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for West Virginia's Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 3.7 percent of West Virginia's total private-sector employment. One-sixth (16.7 percent) of all manufacturing workers in West Virginia 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 West Virginia Businesses

A total of 718 companies exported goods from West Virginia locations in 2006. Of those, 514 (72 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises, with fewer than 500 employees.

Small and medium-sized firms generated 11 percent of West Virginia's 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 West Virginia

In 2005, foreign-controlled companies employed 21,300 workers in West Virginia. Major sources of West Virginia's jobs in 2005 were the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, and Germany.

More than half of these jobs (54 percent, or 11,500 workers) were in the manufacturing sector in 2005. Foreign-controlled companies accounted for 18.3 percent, over one-sixth, of total manufacturing employment in West Virginia in 2005.

Foreign investment in West Virginia was responsible for 3.6 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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West Virginia Depends on World Markets

West Virginia's export shipments of merchandise in 2007 totaled $4.0 billion, a 67 percent increase over the 2003 total of $2.4 billion.

West Virginia exported to 125 foreign destinations in 2007. The state's largest market in 2007, by far, was NAFTA member Canada, which received exports of $1.2 billion, or 29 percent of West Virginia's merchandise export total. Canada was followed by Japan ($304 million), Belgium ($289 million), China ($255 million), and Brazil ($223 million).

Among manufactured products, the state's leading export category is chemical manufactures, which accounted for $1.5 billion (37 percent) of West Virginia's total merchandise exports in 2007. Other top manufactured exports that year were transportation equipment ($478 million in exports), machinery manufactures ($407 million), and primary metal manufactures ($322 million).

In addition to its wide range of manufactured exports, West Virginia is also a significant exporter of minerals, notably coal. Exports of coal totaled $822 million in 2007, accounting for 21 percent of West Virginia's total exports.

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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West Virginia's Metropolitan Exports

In 2006, the metropolitan area of Charleston exported $962 million in merchandise, 31 percent of West Virginia's total merchandise exports. Several major metropolitan area exporters included some counties in West Virginia. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (including some parts of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia) exported $7.5 billion, while Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna (including some parts of Ohio) exported $921 million, Huntington-Ashland (including some parts of Kentucky and Ohio) exported $324 million, Winchester (including some parts of Virginia) exported $232 million, and Wheeling (including some parts of Ohio) exported $208 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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