Team NEO report looks at exports

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Since the recession, the Northeast Ohio region has seen a 40 percent increase in exports.

This is according to the recent Team NEO quarterly economic report released Tuesday.

Team NEO, an economic development organization focused on creating jobs for the 18-county Northeast Ohio region, reported exports have rebounded to almost $29 billion in 2014.

Since 2009, exports in the region have increased 40 percent and by 16 percent since 2006.

The largest goods-producing export industries in the region during 2014 were transportation equipment and chemical manufacturing.

Beverage and tobacco products gained more ground than any other category of products from 2006 to 2014, with a 144 percent increase.

Local data from Global Cities Initiative, a joint project between Brookings and JPMorgan Chase, shows the Youngstown metro area ranking 76th out of the nation’s 100 largest metros for exports in 2014.

The top-five exporting industries in the Youngstown metro area are: nonferrous- metal products, motor vehicles, aircraft products and parts, iron and steel products and aluminum products.