Home Trade and Investment State Trade Fact Sheets 2005 Arkansas

Arkansas

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• 45,000 Arkansas jobs are supported by Canada-U.S. trade
• Total Canada–U.S. merchandise trade: $411 billion
• Canada–U.S. trade supported 5.2 million U.S. jobs
• An impressive 28% of total Arkansan exports were sold to Canada in 2004
• Energy imports from Canada increased five-fold last year

A staggering trade boom…
Canada remained Arkansas’ leading export market, with the state sending 28% of its worldwide merchandise exports north in 2004. The Natural State sent more goods to its northern neighbor than to its next four trade destinations (Mexico, Russia, Japan and the United Kingdom) combined. Two-way trade increased by 20%, with $308 million more goods exchanged than in 2003.

Metal mania…
Of all the state’s export sectors, Arkansas metals experienced the most dramatic growth in 2004. Generating an additional $53 million in state revenue, metal products sold to Canada increased by nearly one-half. Metals generated $162 million for the state, replacing transportation goods as Arkansas’ top export to its northern neighbor. Leading metals included iron and steel pipes and tubes ($66 million) and steel structural shapes and sheet piling ($30 million).

Similarly metals represented the state’s leading import sector. Arkansas purchased $163 million worth or 18% of its total imports from Canada in 2004.

An energetic exchange…
Arkansas looked to Canada as a secure and reliable source to supply its growing energy needs. Totaling $124 million, energy imports from Canada increased five-fold from 2003. Crude petroleum represented the state’s largest individual import, worth $122 million.

Going places with trade…
Transportation, the state’s second largest export sector in 2004, generated$122 million in revenue from Canadian buyers. Motor vehicle parts contributed $98 million to the Arkansan economy, an increase of 14% from 2003.

All things natural…
Arkansas kept its northern neighbor supplied with $119 million in agricultural products in 2004. These goods included cereals, dairy produce, eggs, honey and meats. Agricultural exports to Canada increased by $34 million or 40% over the previous year.

A diamond in the rough…
Canadians interested in the state’s scenic rivers, Ozark Mountains and the world’s only state park diamond mine flocked to the aptly-named Natural State almost 47,000 times in 2004, spending $8 million while there. Arkansans drawn by the allure of Canada visited some 43,300 times and spent $31 million on tourism.

Arkansas' Leading Exports to Canada
2004, in millions of U.S. dollars

• Motor vehicle parts, not including engines ($98)
• Air conditioning & refrigeration equipment ($79)
• Pipes & tubes, iron & steel ($66)
• Cotton ($41)
• Electric generators & motors ($36)
• Paper & paperboard ($34)
• Structural shapes, steel & sheet piling ($30)
• Unshaped plastics ($16)
• Plastic film & sheet ($15)
• Dairy produce, eggs & honey ($13)

Arkansas' Leading Imports from Canada
2004, in millions of U.S. dollars

• Crude petroleum ($122)
• Aluminum, including alloys ($114)
• Softwood lumber ($28)
• Containers ($26)
• Synthetic rubber & plastics ($24)
• Vegetables ($21)
• Basic plastic shapes & forms ($18)
• Motor vehicle parts, not including engines ($17)
• Basic metal products ($16)
• Medical, ophthalmic & orthopaedic supplies ($15)

Canada-Arkansas Success Stories

Records chronicling the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement are housed at the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. These documents show the public debate and final negotiations between Canada, the United States and Mexico that added Mexico to the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement and created NAFTA in 1994.

A McGill University professor and colleagues from the University of Arkansas have embarked on a collaborative research project on nutrition and physiology of chickens. Arkansas is a leading producer of poultry, raising over one billion broiler chickens a year.

Arkansas-Canada Facts at a Glance:

• State jobs supported by Canada–U.S. trade: 45,000

August 2005

For more information on Canada's trade with Arkansas, please contact:
Consulate General of Canada
750 North St. Paul Street, Suite 1700
Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: (214) 922-9806  •  Fax: (214) 922-9815
www.dallas.gc.ca

Sources: Merchandise trade and tourism figures are from Statistics Canada, converted at the rate of US$1.00=C$1.3015. Job numbers are based on 2001 data from a 2003 study by Trade Partnership Worldwide commissioned by the Canadian Embassy. Canada's export ranking is from the World Institute for Strategic Economic Research (WISER). All figures are in U.S. dollars. Figures may not add up due to rounding.

• Read the 2004 state trade figures
• Read the 2003 state trade figures
• Read the 2002 state trade figures