Missouri’s top export sector grows 30%

Companies involved in exports of transportation equipment likely saw a boon to their bottom lines during the first quarter.

The transportation equipment sector, which tops exports in Missouri, grew 30 percent to $1.3 billion during the first three months of the year. Within the sector, motor vehicle exports increased 32 percent to $528 million and aerospace products and parts jumped 26 percent to $513 million, according to a news release from the research arm of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The report by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center shows overall first-quarter exports totaled $3.9 billion, representing a 10 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

The largest foreign buyer of Missouri goods — Canada, at $1.7 billion — more than doubled the next closest market, Mexico, which purchased $642 million during the first quarter.

China was No. 3 in the quarter, at $209 million, followed by Belgium, at $155 million; Japan, at $138 million; and Germany, at $106 million, according to the release.