Home Trade and Investment State Trade Fact Sheets 2005 Illinois

Illinois

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• 237,000 Illinois 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
• Illinois and Canada trade an average of $75 million daily
• The Prairie State exported almost five times more to Canada than to the United Kingdom last year.

Number one...
Canada was Illinois’ primary export market last year, receiving more merchandise goods than the Prairie State’s next five largest export destinations combined. Bilateral trade was valued at $27.4 billion, an increase of 16% from 2003. Illinois sent 31% of its total exports valued at $9.5 billion across its northern border. The Canadians followed suit, sending $17.9 billion in goods south to Illinois.

Energy-powered trade...
The energy sector dominated Illinois-Canada trade, accounting for $9.2 billion or 34% of all goods exchanged last year. The Prairie State imported energy valued at $8.6 billion from Canada—primarily in crude petroleum worth $5 billion and natural gas worth $3.5 billion. In exchange, Illinois sold the Canadians $654 in energy goods, including petroleum and coal products worth $51 million. Illinois-Canada trade in energy grew by $1.3 billion, representing an increase of 17% from 2003.

Paving the way with transport...
Bilateral trade in transportation goods was the second largest sector last year, worth $4.1 billion. The Prairie State’s sales of motor vehicle parts excluding engines drove its exports with completed orders of $629 million. $371 million in automobiles and $297 million in motor vehicle engines captured the bulk of the remaining market. The Prairie State purchased $2.2 billion in transportation goods from Canada, including $855 million in trucks. The Canadians also sold Illinois $343 million in motor vehicles and $411 million in motor vehicle parts excluding engines.

Working for the economy...
Machinery—Illinois’ leading export sector—generated $1.9 billion last year; and was led by the sale of front end loaders valued at $153 million. The state purchased $765 million in Canadian machinery, including $173 million in materials handling machines and equipment. Bilateral trade in machinery grew 10%, increasing trade revenue by $234 million over 2003.

Enriching trade...
Cross-border exchange of chemicals contributed $2.3 billion to trade last year. Organic chemicals, Illinois’ fourth largest export commodity to Canada, generated $236 million. In turn, the state purchased fertilizers valued at $304 million from its northern partner.

Rest and relaxation sells...
Canadians made 361,400 visits to the Prairie State last year, spending an average of $365 per person—nearly double the 2003 figure. Residents of Illinois made 487,000 visits to Canada last year, generating $245 million for the Canadian economy.

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

• Motor vehicle parts, not including engines ($629)
• Automobiles ($371)
• Motor vehicle engines ($297)
• Organic chemicals ($236)
• Railway rolling stock ($228)
• Unshaped plastics ($163)
• Containers ($156)
• Front end loaders ($153)
• Construction & maintenance machinery ($148)
• Paints & related products ($139)

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

• Crude petroleum ($4,998)
• Natural gas ($3,455)
• Trucks ($855)
• Motor vehicle parts, not including engines ($411)
• Newsprint ($409)
• Softwood lumber ($356)
• Fertilizers ($304)
• Synthetic rubber & plastics ($253)
• Basic plastic shapes & forms ($247)
• Cereals ($211)

Canada-Illinois Success Stories

New Flyer Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba will soon play a role in Chicagoans’ daily commutes. The company was chosen to provide new 40-foot, low-floor, accessible buses—including 20 environmentally-friendly diesel hybrid models—to the CTA in 2005. This purchase will enable the city to reduce emissions and the CTA to evaluate the performance of hybrid vehicles in Chicago’s extreme weather conditions.

Peoria-based multi-national Caterpillar Inc. has worked with Canadian oil sands stakeholder Syncrude Inc. since 1994 in the development of fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly trucks for oil sands production sites. Some of Caterpillar’s largest customers include Canadian companies involved in oil extraction of the Alberta oil sands, the world’s second largest known reserve of crude oil.

Canada plays an active role as Illinois’ primary energy supplier through Canadian companies such as TransCanada Pipelines and Enbridge Energy which are working to expand Illinois’ pipeline capacity. Pipeline proposals for the coming years will bring Canadian oil across Missouri into Illinois, and from Superior, Wisconsin to the Chicago area.

Illinois-Canada Facts at a Glance:

• State jobs supported by Canada–U.S. trade: 237,000

August 2005

For more information on Canada's trade with Illinois, please contact:
Consulate General of Canada
180 N. Stetson Avenue, Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60601-6714
Phone: 312) 616-1860  •   Fax: (312) 616-1877
www.chicago.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