June 10, 2026
California Trade Report
Beacon Economics’ monthly analysis of California’s international trade activity
Welcome to the California Trade Report, Beacon Economics’ monthly analysis of California’s international trade activity. This report analyzes data released by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division and pinpoints important trends in the state’s import/export industry, identifying potential effects on the state’s economy. The report is only a sampling of the kind of economic research and data analysis available from Beacon Economics.
California Exports Increase... But Latest Numbers Based on Pre-War Activity
Texas surpassed California in April as the nation’s leading importing state.
The U.S. Commerce Department reports that California was the state-of-destination for $42.376 billion in imported goods in April. That represented a 14.1% share of all U.S. merchandise imports during the month as well as an 11.5% increase over the $38.010 billion imported into California in April 2025.
Texas, meanwhile, reportedly accounted for 15.3% of America’s total merchandise import trade, up from a 12.2% share one year earlier. This April, Texas imported goods valued at $46.011 billion, an astonishing 36.8% increase from $33.638 billion in April 2025. As the Lone Star State enjoyed a 40.1% surge in manufactured imports in April to $41.737 billion from $29.623 billion and a 6.5% gain in non-manufactured imports to $4.274 billion from $4.015 billion one year ago.
- California’s trade in manufactured imports in April was up 13.1% to $38.109 billion from $33.695 billion one year earlier.
- However, California’s trade in non-manufactured imports in April, valued at $4.267 billion, was down by 1.1% from the $4.315 billion in non-manufactured goods the state imported in April 2025.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
As always, Beacon Economics advises against reading too much into month-to-month fluctuations in state export statistics, especially when focusing on specific commodities or destinations. Significant variations can occur due to unusual developments or exceptional one-off trades and may not be indicative of underlying trends. For that reason, Beacon Economics compares the latest three months for which data are available (i.e., February – April) with the corresponding period one year earlier. Please note that the numbers cited in this report are nominal values.
LEADING EXPORT COMMODITIES
The table below displays the latest year-over-year changes in California’s merchandise export trade during the latest three months for which statistics are available. Twelve commodity groups posted three-month export totals exceeding $1 billion. Eight recorded year-over-year gains.
DESTINATIONS
Fourteen foreign markets imported $1 billion or more in goods from California in the February-April period of this year. Trade policy friction drove shipments to Mexico and Canada down by 9.5% from the same three-month period the year before.
China also continued its slide as an export destination for California as South Korea claimed a larger share of the state’s merchandise export trade than did the world’s second largest economy. Taiwan and Japan had already overtaken China.
The Netherlands and Germany ranked among the top ten destinations for California exports, while the state’s exports to Turkey surged to over $1 billion in the last three months due to a sharp increase in exports of civilian aircraft engines and parts.
In the latest three-month period, California’s merchandise export trade with the economies of East Asia rose by 10.2% as the value of shipments across the Pacific totaled $16.213 billion, up from $14.716 billion one year earlier. Meanwhile, California’s exports to the European Union and the United Kingdom rose by 8.8% to $10.051 billion from $9.237 billion.
The state’s exports to Latin America and the Caribbean (excluding Mexico) edged up by 2.8% to $2.464 billion from $2.397 billion. Shipments to Sub-Saharan Africa rose by 61.2% to $221 million from $137 million.
MODE OF TRANSPORT
THE OUTLOOK
Note: The U.S. Commerce Department has been publishing state-of-destination import statistics since 2008. Beacon Economics has long felt that state import data provide a highly misleading indication of the state in which imported goods were ultimately consumed. As a major gateway for the nation’s foreign trade, California has consistently been credited with an out-sized share of U.S. merchandise imports. However, we now believe that the process by which state-of-destination import statistics are compiled has become stable enough to be used to measure relative increases or decreases in the value of imported goods consumed or otherwise used by residents or businesses located in California. We strongly emphasize that we are solely interested in identifying trends. We continue to believe it is not useful to use state export and import statistics to calculate a state trade balance.
Need
forecast data?
Beacon Economics provides customized five-year data forecasts for variables including:
- Taxable Sales
- Home Prices & Sales
- Personal Income
- Unemployment
More
Information
For information about any of the Beacon Economics practice areas, please contact:
Business Development Team at 424-666-2165 or [email protected]