Springs area fares poorly in export rankings

Export-related jobs in the Colorado Springs area grew at the slowest rate between 2003 and 2008 of any of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, according to a study released today by the Brookings Institution.

The local economy added 2,923 jobs that produced exported goods or services during the five-year period, an increase of 20.4 percent and less than a third of the export-related job growth in the Denver area, according to the report from the Washington, D.C.-based think tank. As a group, the nation’s top 100 metro areas added 2.62 million jobs during the five-year period, which is a 51.7 percent growth rate.

Just 5.9 percent of the area’s workers produced exports in 2008, the same percentage as the Denver area and well below the national average of 8.3 percent. The study, “Export Nation: How the U.S. Metros Lead National Export Growth and Boost Competitiveness,” found technology mecca San Jose, Calif., and aircraft production center Wichita, Kan., were the top exporting metro areas, each with more than 22 percent of its workers producing goods or services for export in 2008.

“Exports are a way to complement and diversify the existing economy. At a time when domestic consumption is slowing and the real estate industry is broken, having a presence in foreign markets is a key asset,” said Mark Muro, policy director of the think tank’s Metropolitan Policy Center and co-director of its Mountain West region. “It is tied to manufacturing and innovation — those are things that help drive exports and open new markets.”

The Springs area also ranked among the bottom 20 of the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas in how much of its economic output was exported in 2008, with 7.6 percent of the area’s $25.6 billion in output sent outside the country. Nationwide, 11.1 percent of U.S. economic output was exported in 2008. The area’s export growth of 27.9 percent between 2003 and 2008 also ranked in the bottom 20. The Denver area exported even less of its economic output — 7.3 percent — but its exports grew 54.6 percent between 2003 and 2008 to $10.1 billion.

“Our region is poised to become a bigger player in exporting,” said Angela Joslyn, director of the International Development Office of the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. “Our exports are $2.6 billion less than Albuquerque (N.M.), so we have a growth opportunity because we have a similar base of industries that export. It is a challenge because businesses have had such a long period of no growth, they are just hunkering down to survive.”

The Springs area’s export jobs numbers likely were hurt by the decline in manufacturing employment as businesses moved production from local plants off-shore during the past decade, Muro said. Manufacturing employment in the Springs area fell 24.6 percent, or 5,100 workers, between 2003 and 2008, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

“It’s good to be in manufacturing if you are high enough on the value chain,” Muro said. “If you are not, you are susceptible to having your jobs off-shored. The key to moving higher on the value chain is innovation, which makes you more competitive.”
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