North Dakota Sees Ups and
Downs for 2019 Exports
Oil Exports down 16.23%, Machinery generally down, Cereals up

North Dakota exported $6.75 billion in 2019, down 14.5% from 2018 exports, but over twice what was exported in 2010 ($2.31 billion). Excluding oil, North Dakota’s exports decreased by 10.72% in 2019, lower than the nationwide 1.25% decrease in exports. North Dakota edged above West Virginia in the state rankings for the dollar amount exported in 2019, in 35th place among US states, ahead of Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Alaska, New Mexico, Delaware, Idaho, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Hawaii.

In 2019, petroleum decreased its share of ND’s total exports to 67.3% from 68.68% in 2018. Most of this oil is simply going through a pipeline that crosses briefly into Canada and isn’t actually sold into Canada. Shifts in oil and non-oil exports can be viewed in the chart. Broadly, cereals saw a 14% increase from $263 million to $300 million. These include durum (up 121% to $6.3), corn (up 9% to $146.9 million), and wheat (up 19.22% to $147.7 million). Soybean exports were down 55% to $30 million, canola was down 1% to $67 million. Several of North Dakota’s top-exported manufactured products saw decreases in 2019, with machinery exports falling 25% from $652 to $488 million. Tractors, self-propelled bulldozers, machinery for soil preparation/cultivation and harvesting/threshing machinery also saw declines. Wind-powered generating set exports increased over 2,002% in 2019, with all exports going to Canada. Ethanol saw a small increase of 0.67% in 2019, to $91.6 million, all going to Canada. Dried legume exports showed large gains in chickpea (up 240%), peas (up 82%), and lentils (up 124%). Milled products such as malt, flours, etc. were collectively down to $20 million from $39 million in 2018 (a 50% decline), following a 45% decline for milled products in 2018. There was a 3% decrease in the number of unique items exported from North Dakota, from 1,430 items in 2018 to 1,381 in 2019.

Canada continues to be North Dakota’s number one export destination, taking in $5.9 billion, or 87.5% of North Dakota’s total exports (including the crude oil in the pipeline), down from 88% in 2018. Mexico is the second largest market for North Dakota products, importing $228 million (3.4% of ND’s total exports). Exports to Mexico increased by 0.25%, caused primarily by an increase in wheat exports. The top ten trade partners for North Dakota remain the same, with Brazil moving up 65% to 5th place, and Australia remaining in 3rd, with a sharp 43% decrease in imports from North Dakota, driven by a decline in the exports of machinery. Hong Kong, South Korea, South Africa, and Singapore fell out of the top 20 partners. The other top ten markets for North Dakota products include Germany (4th), Japan (6th), Dominican Republic (7th), Czech Republic (8th), the United Kingdom (9th) and Russia (10th).

For information on the U.S. Commercial Service, call the U.S. Commercial Service – North Dakota office at (701) 239-5080, or visit http://export.gov/northdakota/.

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Your U.S. Commercial Service / North Dakota Office 

	Heather Ranck International Trade Specialist & Office Director Ph: 701-239-5080 Email: Heather.Ranck@trade.gov
	Haley Coffield Export Assistant Ph: 218-843-1746 Email: Haley.Coffield@trade.gov
	Joshua Erickson  Export Assistant Ph: 701-239-5033 Email: Joshua.Erickson@trade.gov
	Nathan Guillemette Export Assistant Ph: 218-689-4390 Email: Nathan.Guillemette@trade.gov
	Kole Nichols Export Assistant Ph: 701-361-1313 Email: Kole.Nichols@trade.gov
	Colby Warzecha Export Assistant Ph: 320-267-6766 Email: Colby.Warzecha@trade.gov

 

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US Commercial Service | United States Department of Commerce | 811 Second Ave. N | Suite 436 | Fargo | ND | 58102