More cars and trucks built in the U.S. have been exported this year than ever before as markets worldwide are bouncing back from the recession.
According to a Detroit News report, U.S. auto exports could reach 2 million units this year, with more than half of them to be made up by Ford, GM and Chrysler. The other half is sourced from American plants owned by Japanese, Korean and German automakers.
Last year, automotive exports totaled $132.7 billion on approximately 1.8 million exported cars and trucks, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. That is $27 billion more than the next highest manufacturing sector in the U.S., aerospace.
However, auto imports to the States are still way larger than exports, with the automotive trade deficit sitting at more than $100 billion. Roughly, half of all U.S. exports are to Mexico or Canada, but the biggest growth in exports is to countries outside North America.
Back in 2004, vehicles shipped to Mexico or Canada made up 80 percent of all U.S. vehicle exports – now that number is 49 percent and falling. Exports to China have increased six-fold since 2009, with one in nine vehicles shipped from the U.S. going to China.
Most of the exported vehicles are models already sold in the U.S., with one of the most successful being the Ford F-150 pickup truck, shipped to 49 countries around the globe.
By Dan Mihalascu
PHOTO GALLERY
