The Crossroads of the West is increasingly an intersection other countries have on their radar. Utah is becoming a bigger player in the global market, export numbers suggest, and local officials say there’s no reason the climb can’t continue.
Exports from the Beehive State have increased from $6.1 billion in 2005 to $19.03 billion in 2011 and support approximately 96,086 jobs in the state, says Lew Cramer, president of the World Trade Center Utah.
Gold and silver refined in Utah, much of it from out of state, accounts for a high percentage of the state’s exports, but it hardly stops there. Air bags, medical devices, semiconductors, brine shrimp from Great Salt Lake, exercise equipment, wood shavings, hay and machinery parts for heavy equipment and aircraft are also among the items being shipped from Utah to the far parts of the world.
