Silicon Valley Beats L.A. Area in Exports
A voracious global appetite for computers and other electronic products pushed Silicon Valley ahead of rival Los Angeles-Long Beach in the dollar value of exports in 1995, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
The home of Apple, Intel and other U.S. high-technology giants boasted $26.82 billion in exports last year, an increase of 34.5% over the previous year, making San Jose the fastest-growing major export area in the country.
Exports from the Los Angeles-Long Beach region also increased, by 11.3% to $24.73 billion, but not enough to maintain its No. 3 position nationally. San Jose seized that spot as the Los Angeles area fell to No. 4. The top two exporters remain Detroit and New York.
Though Southern California remains an engine for trade, particularly in entertainment, multimedia and aerospace, it could do more to develop its high-technology base by boosting financing and other support, according to the 1996 industry outlook by the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles.
Silicon Valley’s high-tech firms have particularly benefited from the boom in Asia, where governments are expected to spend $1.5 trillion over the next decade modernizing plants, upgrading roads and airports and building telecommunications networks.
The study reinforced California’s role as the nation’s top exporter, accounting for 15% of the country’s total foreign sales. Overall, nine of the state’s 15 most important export markets are in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Bank of America’s International Trade Bank.
Wednesday’s Commerce Department report, which ranked 253 metropolitan areas in terms of trade, was just the latest release from the Clinton administration suggesting that the U.S. economy, particularly in California, has benefited from the president’s trade policies.
“One cannot overstate the importance of exports in creating jobs and economic growth and opportunity in our cities,” Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor said. “The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the Clinton administration’s export promotion strategy.”
But presidential challenger Bob Dole has attacked Clinton’s trade policies, citing the widening deficit as proof that U.S. workers are losing ground to their foreign competitors.
The Commerce Department report shows export sales for the 253 metropolitan areas totaled $467.66 billion last year, a 12.6% increase over 1994. These cities accounted for almost three-quarters of last year’s total U.S. merchandise exports.
Detroit remained the country’s top exporting area in 1995, but its sales of $27.32 billion represented a 0.6% drop from its 1994 total.
New York, at $27.13 billion, showed an increase of 15.2% from the previous year, led by an upswing in sales of primary metals, including gold.
Big dollar gains were concentrated in the nation’s largest cities, but many of the biggest percentage increases came from smaller cities, where trade has historically played a less important role in the economy.
La Crosse, Wis., had the biggest increase in this category, a 196.8% jump that pushed exports from that city to $276.2 million. Other top percentage gains were turned in by Sherman-Denison, Texas, up 151%; South Bend, Ind., up 142.9%; Florence, S.C., up 112.4%; and Texarkana, Texas and Ark., up 112%.
