WCIT Northwest Trade Dashboard

Washington State Trade Trends: 2021-2025: A Story of Resilience and Adaptation

Background

In Q4 2021, WCIT began publishing a quarterly dashboard of key trade statistics for Washington state. The dashboard tracks metrics that showcase our region’s key role in international trade, including total exports and imports, port volumes, major trading partners for exports and imports, and employment data. Readers can find quarterly updates on Washington’s top export categories, such as transportation equipment and agricultural products, along with detailed breakdowns of trade volumes through top ports and by Congressional district. The dashboard also monitors trade volume with key partners and tracks how international trade supports local jobs, sustaining over 800,000 positions across the Northwest. These metrics tell the story of our region’s dependence on international trade and its crucial position in global commerce, offering policymakers, business leaders, and the public clear insights into the Northwest’s trading economy. Each quarter, the dashboard is updated when all new data is available, approximately 3-4 months after the period ends.

In Q3 2023, we expanded the WCIT Trade Dashboard to include Oregon and Idaho, recognizing the region’s interconnected role in trade.

What Story Does the Data Tell?

Once we have more historical data for Oregon and Idaho, our trend analysis will cover the region. For now, let’s look at the story the data tells for Washington state.

Washington state’s international trade landscape from late 2021 through mid-2024 tells a story of economic resilience amid global challenges. The data reveals how our ports, businesses, and trading relationships have evolved, showcasing both our strengths and areas of opportunity in the international marketplace.

Trade Volume and Economic Impact

Our state consistently handles around $45 billion in quarterly trade volume, though we’ve seen some fluctuation. While this slightly softens from peak levels, it demonstrates Washington’s continued significance in global trade. Notably, international trade supports 364,000 jobs across Washington, with 61% in goods exports and 39% in services exports – a testament to our diverse trade economy.

Shifting Export Patterns

Two key export categories tell an essential story about Washington’s trade dynamics. Transportation equipment, primarily driven by our aerospace sector, has remained a crucial export despite significant quarterly variations. While following traditional seasonal patterns with fourth-quarter peaks, agricultural exports have shown some decline, reflecting changing global market conditions and increased competition.

Imports Steadily Climb While Exports Catch Up

In 2019, Washington state’s imports began to exceed exports, with the gap widening in 2020. Since then, Washington state was a net importer until Q4 2023, when exports exceeded imports by more than $1B – the first quarter since pre-pandemic (Q4 2019).

Trading Partners: Evolution and Stability

Our trade relationships highlight both change and consistency. Canada, China, and Japan continue to be top trading partners. At the same time, Taiwan, South Korea, Ireland, Vietnam, and Malaysia are all examples of countries where trade volume has fluctuated significantly between quarters. This diversification of trading partners demonstrates Washington’s ability to adapt to changing global conditions while maintaining strong regional relationships.

Port Performance

Washington’s ports continue to demonstrate their crucial role in Pacific trade. The ports of Blaine and Tacoma, in particular, have shown robust performance, with Tacoma’s volumes generally increasing over the period. This success reflects our strategic location and our ports’ operational efficiency in handling international cargo.

Looking Forward

As we move through 2024, Washington’s trade sector shows signs of stabilization after the volatility of recent years. While overall trade volumes have moderated from their peaks, our consistent employment numbers and stable port operations suggest a resilient trade infrastructure ready to capitalize on new opportunities.

The data reveals the Northwest’s dynamic and adaptable trade economy. It maintains its crucial role in international commerce while adjusting to changing global conditions. This resilience positions our state well for future growth and continued leadership in international trade.

WCIT Q2 2025 Trade Dashboard

The Q2 2025 edition of the WCIT Northwest Trade Dashboard is now available, following a delay due to the federal government shutdown. This dashboard covers May – June 2025, making it the first dashboard release to examine trade trends since “Liberation Day” in April. Given that, there are a few interesting data points: 

• Washington export and import totals were both down a bit Q/Q (-1% for exports; -9% for imports). However, exports increased +5% and imports decreased by -3% on a Y/Y basis, suggesting that Q2 was mostly on par with what was observed in Q2 2024.
• On the other hand, Oregon and Idaho export and import totals show significant changes for a few metrics on both a Q/Q and Y/Y basis.
  • Oregon exports decreased -9% Q/Q (-16% Y/Y) and imports increased +17% (+24% Y/Y), suggesting that exports and imports are moving in opposite directions and that recent changes have amplified the trend.
  • Idaho exports decreased -18% Q/Q (-4% Y/Y) and imports decreased -45% (-26% Y/Y), suggesting that, although exports sharply decreased Q/Q, changes in Q2 2025 had a much more pronounced impact on imports relative to 2024.
• Looking into origin/destination-specific stats reveals a little bit more chaos behind the numbers. In most cases, total imports/exports from East Asian countries (and a few others) have changed fairly substantially in both directions on a Q/Q and Y/Y basis. Reading through the tables, look at how Q/Q and Y/Y changes interact to get a feel for changes that reflect a possible ongoing trend to monitor vs. those that may be the result of increased trade in Q1 due to potential pre-positioning in anticipation of tariffs.
  • In a few cases, a sharp Q/Q decrease was accompanied by a much smaller Y/Y decrease or slight increase, which suggests that totals in Q1 were elevated due to some potential front running and pre-positioning to avoid the impact of expected tariff increases. As an example, although WA exports to China were down -38% Q/Q, there was no change on a Y/Y basis.
  • In others, both Q/Q and Y/Y totals dropped by a significant amount, which suggests a more direct change due to shifting tariff expectations. As an example, WA imports from China were down -24% Q/Q and -28% Y/Y.
• It is also worth mentioning that most of the tariffs that were announced in April 2025 did not go into effect until June or later, so it is possible that we see more substantial changes that we can tie to tariff policy in the next edition of the dashboard.

Below are highlights and insights from Q2 2025 for each state.

Idaho

• Exports Fall: ID exports contracted 18% compared to last quarter as exports to Canada and Mexico both fell significantly.
• Import Levels Drop: ID imports decreased sharply on a quarterly basis (-45%), largely the result of a pronounced drop in imports from several Asian countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore.
• Port Volume Shrink: ID port volumes declined significantly on both a quarterly and yearly basis, primarily due to a sharp drop in the value of trade handled by the port of Eastport.

Current and Previous Dashboards