Regional Reports

Analysis of Foreign Direct Investment Activities in Southcentral Pennsylvania

2016 FDI Data

The annual report of foreign direct investment activity is based on the most recent data of foreign owned companies compiled by Dun & Bradstreet. The report focuses in detail on the impact of Foreign Direct Investment activity on the eight counties of Southcentral Pennsylvania, as well as how our region compares to the other regions within the State. It examines county level as well as regional level data for both, number of foreign owned companies and the number of personnel employed by those foreign owned companies.

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Key Findings:

  • Southcentral PA was the third highest-ranking region based on number of foreign owned companies and number of employees of foreign owned companies, behind Southeast/Philadelphia metropolitan area, and Southwest/Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
  • The number of employees of foreign owned companies in Southcentral PA grew from 53,423 people in 2015 to 71,519 people in 2016.
  • Southcentral PA had two of the top ten counties based on number of foreign owned firms.
  • Southcentral PA had three of the top ten counties based on number of employees of foreign owned firms.
  • Dauphin County had 141% growth in the number of citizens employed by foreign owned companies from 2015 to 2016.

Analysis of Southcentral PA Metro Area Exports

2015 Metropolitan Export Data

This report gives a snapshot of southcentral Pennsylvania’s export growth in 2015. Every year when the International Trade Administration releases their “Metropolitan Export Series” data, we summarize the information for our region. This provides a comprehensive analysis of where our region lies in relation to the rest of the State’s exports. The southcentral region of Pennsylvania encompasses seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA), including Chambersburg-Waynesboro, Gettysburg, Harrisburg-Carlisle, Lancaster, Lebanon, Reading, and York-Hanover.

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Key Findings

  • Since 2005, Pennsylvania’s overall merchandise export sales increased by 77%.
  • Since 2005, the Southcentral PA region’s export sales have increased by 159%.
  • The seven southcentral Pennsylvania metropolitan statistical areas grew their exports by $2.3 billion since 2010, reaching a total of $ 8.8 billion in 2015.
  • Additionally, the southcentral region’s share of total PA exports has increased steadily since 2012, ending with a 22.4% share in 2015.
  • The top five international export markets include Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, China and Japan.
  • Pennsylvania’s top five industries for export include chemicals, transportation equipment, computers and electronics, machinery, and metals.
  • Pennsylvania remains the 10th largest exporting state with US$ 39.44 billion in merchandise exports.
  • Pennsylvania’s trade deficit decrease to US$40.3 billion in 2015, from US$42.8 billion in 2014.

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