After another poor quarter, 2019 ended on a down note for Tennessee exporters, according to the latest “Global Commerce” trade report from MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center.

The fourth quarter of 2019 saw the state’s exports drop by $500 million from the same period in 2018, mirroring losses for the third quarter. Tennessee exports suffered a $1.6 billion loss over the entire the year.

Dr. Steven Livingston

“This quarter, the losses were widespread,” said Global Commerce author Steven Livingston, BERC associate director and a professor of political science and international relations at MTSU. “Shipments were down across a number of industries, including automobiles and aerospace. Exports to Canada and Mexico were particularly hard hit.”

Livingston noted that the state continued to feel the impact of the retaliatory tariffs placed on American export.

“A few industries, notably in the medical sector, did forge ahead. But overall, the headwinds were too strong,” Livingston said. “A strong dollar, weak global growth, a trade war, and declining auto sales all proved too much. We are not optimistic that these obstacles will abate anytime soon. And they are now joined by the unknown impact of the coronavirus.”

To read the full report and more detailed summaries, go to https://mtsu.edu/globalcommerce/reports/profile/308.

For more information, contact Livingston at 615-898-2720 or email steven.livingston@mtsu.edu.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)