Manufactured goods constitute 90 percent of Illinois exports and roughly half of the state’s manufacturing output. Last year Chicago area companies accounted for over two thirds of the $68.3 billion worth of exports that originated in Illinois. Metro exports have exhibited steady improvement over the past five years growing by an average of $3.8 billion annually as manufacturing user demand followed suit. Roughly 60 percent of Chicago’s exports were sent to countries with existing free trade agreements in place. According to the Department of Commerce members of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership imported $28.7 billion worth of products from Chicagoland last year. Should TPP move forward escalating trade volumes are likely to impact the local industrial market.

1. -5.0
-3.0
-1.0
1.0
3.0
5.0
7.0
9.0
11.0
13.0
15.0
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90
$100
$110
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Netabsorptionmillionss.f.
Billions$USD
Illinois Manufacturing Exports Illinois Manufacturing Output Chicago Manufacturing Net Absorption
• Manufactured goods constitute 90 percent of Illinois exports and roughly half of the state’s manufacturing
output. Last year Chicago area companies accounted for over two thirds of the $68.3 billion worth of
exports that originated in Illinois. Metro exports have exhibited steady improvement over the past five
years growing by an average of $3.8 billion annually as manufacturing user demand followed suit.
• Roughly 60 percent of Chicago’s exports were sent to countries with existing free trade agreements in
place. According to the Department of Commerce members of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership
imported $28.7 billion worth of products from Chicagoland last year. Should TPP move forward
escalating trade volumes are likely to impact the local industrial market.
Chicago
Chart of the week: September 14, 2015
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, JLL Research
Exports drive demand for manufacturing
facilities