Florida high-tech exports grow by nearly $1 billion
Florida’s technology exports grew by almost $1 billion last year, according to the Trade in the Cyberstates 2008 report, released Tuesday by AeA, a national technology trade association.
Florida was the third-largest tech exporter in the nation, with a $13.4 billion share of the U.S.’s $214 billion total.
Florida trailed only California, which led the country with $48.2 billion, and Texas, the nation’s second leading high-tech exporter, with $35.9 million. New York ($8.9 billion) and Massachusetts ($8.7 billion) rounded out the top five.
"When many people think of Florida exports, they probably think only of citrus fruits,” said Maryann Fiala, executive director of AeA’s Florida Council. “But, nearly a third of all exports from the Sunshine State are high-tech products. State public policy officials need to see trade as a great job creator for Florida. High-tech exports support nearly 70,000 jobs in the state.”
While Florida’s tech exports rose, they declined by 3 percent domestically.
The largest single tech sector was computers and peripherals, which accounted for $5.1 billion of exports.
The overviews also provided the top five leading high-tech export destinations for individual states.
For example, Massachusetts’ leading export destination was Japan, followed by Germany and Canada fast cash advance. In contrast, Florida’s leading high-tech export destinations were Brazil, Venezuela and Mexico.
High-tech exports supported hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. In Florida, nearly 70,000 jobs were supported by tech exports. Other leading states included Texas (183,900 jobs), California (183,000 jobs), Arizona (36,400 jobs) and Oregon (33,900 jobs).
What does high-tech trade mean for Florida?
· $13.4 billion in high-tech exports (ranked third in U.S.)
· Up $989 million in tech exports between 2006 and 2007
· 30 percent of exports from Florida are tech exports (ranked 12th)
· 69,900 jobs in Florida are supported by tech exports
Florida’s leading tech export destinations:
· Brazil ($2 billion)
· Venezuela ($1.3 billion)
· Mexico ($1 billion)
Florida’s leading tech export sectors:
· Computers and peripheral equipment ($5.1 billion, ranked third in U.S.)
· Communications equipment ($3.3 billion, ranked third)
· Photonics ($529 million, ranked second)