Global Trade Benefits

The America-based automobile industry is a vibrant player in today’s global economy. U.S. manufacturers of autos and their components – wherever their corporate headquarters may be – contribute to the American economy and support local jobs through exports and port employment.

Created with Sketch. Exports to Asia 2003 $20.9B $4.2B 2018 398 % UP

Exports To Asia Increase

A decade ago, 68 countries around the globe imported substantial amounts of American auto products (at least $10 million worth). By 2018, 103 countries imported over $10 million worth of auto goods from the U.S. As a continent, Asia saw the greatest increase in auto-related shipments from the U.S. In 2003, the U.S. exported almost $4.2 billion in vehicles and parts to Asian countries. A decade and a half later, America shipped $20.9 billion of auto-related goods to Asia – an increase of 397 percent from 2003. At that time, Asian countries comprised only 8 percent of U.S. auto exports; in 2018 that figure had accelerated to over 22 percent.

More countries are now importing American auto-related exports

Auto goods shipped around the world often pass through U.S. ports in states not generally considered “auto” states by the public. In fact, every region of the U.S. has port facilities busily loading and unloading cars and parts. For example, Baltimore remains the busiest US port for finished vehicle handling and the second busiest in North America overall. And, in an “auto state” with assembly plants, the port of Charleston is expected to gain business this year from expanded production and the opening of a new plant in South Carolina.

In 2018 alone, exports of cars and parts amounting to over $97 billion were shipped from U.S. ports­­—almost double the $50.8 billion of auto products America exported just 15 years ago.

Auto Exports Fuel Economic Growth in the U.S. John Griffin is manager of international port operations for Chrysler in Baltimore, MD, responsible for overseeing all the company’s ports in North America. Chrysler creates jobs for 745 people at U.S. ports, exporting 200,000 cars to 92 countries around the world.