Study: Wichita No. 1 in nation in export growth | The Wichita Eagle

Wichita — with its cluster of aviation manufacturers — ranked first in a list of cities with the fastest export growth, a new study shows.

Wichita was also the leading city in exports that drive U.S. Gross Metropolitan Product.

The research is from the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based public policy organization.

Increasing exports is important in building up the U.S. economy.

"Exports deliver good-paying jobs," the report said.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called for a new National Export initiative to double U.S. exports over the next five years.

The economy as a whole hasn't doubled exports over a five-year period in six decades, researchers said in "Export Nation: How U.S. Metros Lead National Export Growth and Boost Competitiveness," which was released Monday.

Only four metropolitan areas doubled exports in the past five years — Wichita; Portland, Ore.; New Orleans and Houston.

Wichita's exports grew 22 percent from 2003 to 2008, when adjusted for inflation.

"This growth is attributable to (Wichita's) impressive aircraft industry cluster," the study said.

It noted that the city is home to Cessna Aircraft, Hawker Beechcraft, Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing and Bombardier Aerospace.

The companies are helped by myriad suppliers that strengthen their export capability, the report said.

Wichita planemakers build nearly half of all general aviation aircraft delivered around the world each year.

Roughly half of those deliveries go outside the U.S.

Cessna's exports grew by 165.5 percent from 2005 and 2008 driven by strong sales into developing regions such as Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

Hawker Beechcraft's exports, meanwhile grew by more than 390 percent from 2004 to 2009, it said. That was driven by sales to Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

Suppliers such as Perfekta and Cox Machine in Wichita benefited from exports, the report said.

Although Cox Machine was affected by the recession in 2009, layoffs would have been worse without Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft's sales abroad, the report said.

The Brookings report underscores the critical role general aviation airplane manufacturing must play if the administration is to meet its goal of boosting exports, General Aviation Manufacturers president and CEO Pete Bunce said in a statement.

The aviation industry lost a significant portion of its work force during the economic downturn, Bunce said.

"Our recovery depends on an ever more robust export market for U.S. manufacturers," he said.

The administration must advance policies and regulations that support recovery of the general aviation industry, he said.

Export growth translates into jobs, the study said.

In 2008, U.S. exports supported 11.8 million jobs nationally and 7.7 million jobs in the top 100 metro areas, it said.

Export-intensive industries also paid more than domestic-oriented ones.

For every $10 billion in exports in an industry, workers earn 10 percent to 20 percent higher wages than those in a non-exporting industry in the same city, it said.

The U.S. should become more export-oriented and less dependent on domestic consumption, the report suggests.

Good-paying jobs are at a premium. Exports could also help reduce U.S. independence on foreign borrowing and the chance of massive investment bubbles.

To increase exports, the U.S. must work to level the playing field on trade and currency, improve U.S.-made exports for export and connect those products to global markets, it says.