Massachusetts Sets Record in Exports.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2001

Mass Exporters and Business Leaders Gather At World Trade Center

Friday for 6th Annual Commonwealth Conference On International

Business

Highlighting the value of world trade, which will be the focus of this Friday's Commonwealth Conference on International Business, The Alliance for the Commonwealth today released the 2000 Massachusetts Export Index showing that Massachusetts exported more than $21 billion in products, setting records in each of the four quarters and the year. Overall and industry by industry, Massachusetts companies consistently outperformed their national counterparts in export growth during the year.

The strong competitive posture of Bay State industries was reflected in a growing diversity in the mix of products sold internationally and the markets to which they were exported. The Alliance's Export Indicator, which compares the state's actual exports with its "expected" level based on national performance, was positive in each quarter of 2000, climbing from $62 million in the first quarter to $241 million in the second and $336 million in the third before easing off to $163 million in the final quarter of the year. For the four quarters of 2000, the indicator totaled an unprecedented $802 million.

"These numbers are impressive as we approach this year's Commonwealth Conference on International Business," said Richard Lord, president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts. "For the past six years this conference has gathered Massachusetts business leaders together to focus on how global commerce is strengthening the state's economy. We're now the ninth-ranked exporting state, though 13th in population, and many Massachusetts companies and jobs depend on international sales. This week, local companies will learn firsthand how to improve their export performance in fast-growing markets such as Asia, Africa and Latin America."

Massachusetts business leaders will gather this Friday at the World Trade Center for the Commonwealth Conference on International Business where they will hear from representatives of the Asian, African and Inter-American Development Banks about business opportunities in those regions. The Alliance for the Commonwealth, a nonpartisan research and educational foundation created by Associated Industries of Massachusetts, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Port Authority, will welcome keynote Speakers Stephen Koplan and Rosabeth Moss Kanter to the conference and will present Export Achievement Awards to Boston University, Nypro Inc and Revere Copper Products.

Massachusetts companies will gain insight on how to bid competitively for the billions of dollars in contracts available from development banks for goods, services and civil works; how to obtain information on procurement opportunities; prepare letters of interest; prepare bid proposals; and negotiate contracts. Bank experts will also cover key questions, such as how to prepare "responsive" bids to maximize success; how bids are evaluated; and what procedures are available to resolve bidding problems.

The total value of Massachusetts exports of manufactured goods was $21.1 billion, up 21.7 percent from 1999. Massachusetts manufacturers set their fifth consecutive quarterly export record in the year's fourth quarter, with $5.6 billion in sales to 200 countries around the world. Exports of manufactured goods from Massachusetts were up 1.8 percent from the prior quarter, and 17.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 1999. U.S. exports of manufactured goods totaled $722.4 billion in 2000, a 12.5 percent gain from 1999. National fourth-quarter manufacturing exports of $189.4 billion represented a 4.4% gain from the third quarter and a 9.6% increase from the fourth quarter of 1999. Massachusetts recorded larger and steadier export growth than the country saw as a whole from late 1999 to 2000, although the state's export growth slowed in the last quarter of 2000 while the nation's accelerated.

The electronics and electrical equipment (excluding computers) sector cemented its position as the Bay State's leading export industry in 2000, with a huge 44.3% gain in international sales, marked by strong gains in the fourth quarter, while some other sectors faltered. Electronics took over the top spot from industrial machinery and computers, long the dominant export sector, in 1999. Industrial machinery, after two years of eroding sales, showed strong gained (up 15.3%) in 2000. Instrument and related products ranked third, but moved in on second place, with annual export growth of 22.9%. Following these three high technology manufacturing industries came chemicals, fabricated and primary metal products, transportation equipment (including aircraft engines), rubber and plastic products, paper, and textiles.

The geography of the Commonwealth's top export markets for the first three quarters of 2000 highlights a broadening diversity. The three largest customers are Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. The top 10 include our two North American Free Trade Agreement partners and four nations each in the European Union and Asia. This diversity is important, because the underperformance of Massachusetts in exports compared with the nation through most of the last decade was attributable to a traditional dependence on a limited number of mature, slow-growing markets. Greater success in emerging markets produces faster growth in exports; at the same time, the relative volatility of many of these economies makes geographic diversification even more important. At this week's Commonwealth Conference on International Business, local companies will learn about how to take advantage of opportunities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The leading Massachusetts export markets last year were:

1. Canada

2. Japan

3. United Kingdom

4. Germany

5. Netherlands

6. Taiwan

7. France

8. Republic of Korea

9. Singapore

10. Mexico

The top seven export markets each purchased more than $1 billion in Massachusetts manufactures in 2000. Exports to mainland China and Hong Kong would have ranked eighth on the list, at $985.7 million.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts (A.I.M.) created the Alliance for the Commonwealth, a nonpartisan research and educational foundation, to help Massachusetts businesses succeed in an environment of accelerating change. By developing and communicating information about the economic well being of the Commonwealth in the face of global changes in commerce and technology, and by promoting policies that encourage international trade, the Alliance strives to improve the state's overall economic strength and quality of life.