VN Staff
Published Tuesday, September 23, 2008 5:00 am

The American Electronics Association (AeA) reported today Tennessee ranked 10th among states in overall high-tech exports in 2007, with $4.8 billion in value in 2007, up $300 million over 2006.
 

AeA's "CyberTrade" report said Tennessee trailed, in rank-order: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, Minnesota.

Tennessee was the nation's second-largest exporter of electromedical equipment, ranking after California with $1.6 billion in exports in the sector, about half of California's sector total.

Tennessee also ranked 5th in export of computers and peripheral equipment in 2007, after California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

The state's tech exports represented 22 percent of Tennessee's overall $21.9 billion in exports, ranking 15th in share of total exports. Growth in Tennessee high-tech exports was 133.2 percent during the period 2001-07 (ranking 6th for the period), and an increase of 7.2 percent in 2006-07 (ranking the state sixth on growth for that period). Tennessee high-tech jobs dependent on export were 17,800.

AeA reported that despite gains in exporting since 2001, "the United States has not yet been able to reach the volume of exports achieved in 2000 before the tech bubble collapse." High-tech goods comprised 18 percent of total U.S. exports in 2007.

U.S. high-tech exports totaled $214 billion in 2007, falling three percent from $220 billion in 2006.  U.S. high-tech imports reached $333 billion in 2007, up three percent from $322 billion in 2006, reflecting a roughly $118 billion high-tech trade deficit that stands in sharp contrast to the $33 billion deficit of 2001.

Earlier this year, AeA's "CyberStates" report showed Tennessee 48th in tech jobs and 35th in average tech wages. Still earlier, a third report in the series -- "CyberCities" -- showed Nashville tech wages rising rapidly, but the city's workforce was ranked 58th among 60 CyberCities in tech's share of the total workforce. ♦