Business - Dave Gallagher

POSTED: Sunday, Jul. 20, 2008

Exports an economic bright spot

Of all the business news that comes out about Whatcom County, one important area that often is overlooked is exporting.

Last week the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report that measures the value of exports in 369 metro areas across the country through the first half of 2007. According to the data, the Bellingham metro area (which is Whatcom County) had exports valued at $885.5 million in 2006, up a whopping 40.2 percent from the previous year. The 2006 total ranked Bellingham 120th out of those 369 metro areas, ahead of more populous areas like Oklahoma City, Modesto, Calif., and Spokane. In the first half of 2007, this area had $377.5 million in exports, ranking Bellingham 152nd among metro areas. Considering that many of the things we export, such as agriculture and fish, aren’t harvested until the second half of the year, I would expect this area to have a stronger second half.

Since the first half of 2007, it appears Whatcom’s export picture has continued to grow because the U.S. dollar has continued to weaken, making local products even more attractive to growing economies around the world. Doug Thomas, president of Bellingham Cold Storage, noted in a story earlier this month that his company’s market has been shifting toward exports as a result of the declining U.S. dollar.

Whatcom’s biggest export, value-wise, is in the petroleum and coal products category, which makes sense with two major refineries in the area. The export value for that category increased from $235.3 million in 2005 to $300.8 million in 2006. Other top exports are agriculture, fishing, wood products and metal manufacturing.

Where our exports go also is interesting. The report didn’t break it down by specific countries but by trade areas, with NAFTA countries (Canada and Mexico) and Asia taking the biggest chunk of exports, followed by the European Union, South America and Africa.

The demand from the global market for products made here provides a good counterbalance to other parts of the economy that have been sluggish lately, such as retail sales, construction and real estate. The fact that an economic slowdown in the U.S. economy hasn’t slowed global markets has some good benefits, helping areas strong in exporting like here and throughout Washington state.