Smaller firms account for lion's share of exports

A new government study released by the House Ways and Means Committee shows that in 1997, more than 202,000 small- and medium-sized businesses exported goods to countries around the world, nearly double the 112,854 companies that exported goods in 1992.

Conducted by the nonpartisan General Accounting Office, the study also found that companies with fewer than 500 employees accounted for 97 percent of all U.S. exporters in 1997, which is the most recent year that data is available on exported goods, according to a press release from the Ways and Means Committee.

Highlights of the GAO study include:

Exports by small and medium-sized firms account for one-third of the total value of exports.

Small- and medium-sized businesses represented the highest shares of total U.S. exports in miscellaneous manufactured goods (66 percent), lumber and wood products (64 percent) and apparel (51 percent).

By value, U.S. goods exports rose from $251 billion in 1987 to $689 billion in 1997.

U.S. goods exports increased from 5 percent of gross domestic product in 1987 to 8 percent of GDP in 1997.

Similarly, the report indicated U.S. service exports rose from $99 billion in 1987 to $258 billion in 1997.

Since 1990, small businesses have created 75 percent of all net new jobs.