Home Trade and Investment State Trade Fact Sheets 2006 West Virginia

West Virginia

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• Canada–U.S. trade supported 5.2 million U.S. jobs
• Total Canada–U.S. merchandise trade: $461 billion
• Canada–West Virginia trade supported 25,000 U.S. jobs
• Canadians made more than 195,900 visits to West Virginia, spending $11 million
• West Virginia residents made 10,200 visits to Canada, spending $6 million

Mountains of trade
The West Virginia–Canada relationship deepened in 2005 with increases in nine of the state's leading commodities to Canada. The Mountain State lived up to its name with regard to bilateral trade; exports and imports increased overall, and exports by double digits. Furthermore, Canada was West Virginia's most significant trading partner. The state sent more goods north to Canada than to its next two largest export markets combined.

Motoring forward
Canada reached out to West Virginia to meet its transportation product needs. The state supplied its northern neighbor with $363 million in motor vehicle parts excluding engines, which represented its leading export commodity. Motor vehicle engine parts worth $88 million increased by 57% from the previous year. Combined, the two transportation goods represented over a third of all state exports to Canada and was a driving force in the growing trade relationship.

Coal is king
West Virginia leads the nation in underground coal production and coal exports, so it comes as no surprise that its second largest export to Canada was coal, valued at $288 million, an increase of 32% from the last year. The state also shipped $17 million in lubricating oils and greases. In return the state purchased $5 million in Canadian petroleum and coal products.

A chemical bond
West Virginia and Canada traded $547 million worth of chemicals and chemical products in 2005; almost one-quarter of total bilateral trade. As in previous years the state's principal import was Canadian organic chemicals valued at $252 million. It also purchased $71 million in synthetic rubber and plastic. West Virginia's chemical shipments to Canada amounted to $208 million, led by unshaped plastics worth $135 million.

Lucrative visits
Canadians traveled to the Mountain State in record numbers, making 195,900 visits and spending $11 million in 2005. West Virginians ventured over the Appalachian mountains to Canada, making a modest 10,200 visits and spending $6 million indulging in Canadian goods.

West Virginia's Leading Exports to Canada
2005, in millions of U.S. dollars

• Motor vehicle parts* ($363)
• Coal ($288)
• Unshaped plastics ($135)
• Motor vehicle engine parts ($88)
• Steel plate, sheet & strip ($73)
• Aluminum, including alloys ($71)
• Organic chemicals ($26)
• Medical, ophthalmic & orthopaedic supplies ($21)
• Lubricating oils & greases ($17)
• Inorganic chemicals ($15)

*not including engines

West Virginia's Leading Imports from Canada
2005, in millions of U.S. dollars

• Organic chemicals ($252)
• Aluminum, including alloys ($172)
• Aircraft engines & parts ($126)
• Synthetic rubber & plastics ($71)
• Nickel & alloys ($57)
• Newsprint ($45)
• Paper other than newsprint ($15)
• Trucks ($13)
• Motor vehicle parts* ($12)
• Scrap iron & steel ($10)

*not including engines

Canada-West Virginia Success Stories

Toyota's motor manufacturing plant in West Virginia supplies automotive engines for the Lexus R330 manufactured in Toyota's assembly plant in Cambridge, Ontario — the only Lexus vehicle manufactured outside of Japan. Recent announcements (2005) to expand production of automatic transmissions in West Virginia and to establish a new Toyota manufacturing facility in Woodstock, Ontario (producing the RAV4), point to renewed confidence in the highly successful integrated North American auto sector, and to the Canada-West Virginia production and manufacturing relationship.

Since purchasing Snowshoe Mountain Resort (Pocahontas County, West Virginia), Canada's Intrawest, a world leader in destination resorts and adventure travel, has invested over US$125 million in resort capital improvements. The Village at Snowshoe offers four-season vacation opportunities including world-class skiing and mountain bike trails, the Gary Player-Signature Championship Raven Golf Course, along with a range of outdoor summer and winter programming. Scheduled for completion in the summer of 2008, Snowshoe's mountain-top village, with the theme of "Forever Wild", will have 600 homes and 100,000 sq.ft. of restaurants, shops and specialty stores.

Since its launch in 1983, West Virginia Public Broadcasting has featured over 50 Canadian musicians on its live radio program, Mountain Stage, which is aired on over 100 public radio stations, XM Satellite Radio and Voice of America. Special productions of Mountain Stage have been broadcast from the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC, the Winnipeg Folk Festival and CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Mountain Stage helped shine the spotlight on many Canadian performers emerging on the US scene as well as such legendary artists as Bruce Cockburn, k.d. lang and Gordon Lightfoot.

West Virginia-Canada Facts at a Glance:

• State jobs supported by Canada–U.S. trade: 25,000

July 2006

For more information on Canada's trade with West Virginia, please contact:

Consulat General of Canada
3000 HSBC Center
Buffalo, NY 14203-2884
Tél. : (716) 858-9500   •   Téléc. : (716) 852-4340
www.buffalo.gc.ca

Sources: Merchandise trade and tourism figures are from Statistics Canada, converted at the rate of US$1.00=C$1.2116. Merchandise trade data is customs-based for the year 2005. 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 2005 state trade figures
• Read the 2004 state trade figures
• Read the 2003 state trade figures
• Read the 2002 state trade figures