# What is the top export of the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477 "2015-06-02T20:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/1 "2015-06-02T20:40:18Z")
I seem to remember reading that it was aircraft, but I have a friend who insists that is movies and TV shows. Are either of these true or is it something else? A search only seems to list the number 1 as “capital goods”, which is rather vague. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/2 "2015-06-02T20:53:09Z")
[Machines, engines, pumps.](http://www.worldstopexports.com/united-states-top-10-exports/2001) Oil comes in at number 3. I thought Food/Agriculture would be somewhere in the top 10. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/3 "2015-06-02T20:55:10Z")
Of course, it depends on how broadly you define the categories. Is “food” an export, or is “wheat”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/4 "2015-06-02T20:58:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, it depends on how broadly you define the categories. Is “food” an export, or is “wheat”? I dunno. Are machines an export or are drill presses? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/5 "2015-06-02T21:37:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, it depends on how broadly you define the categories. Is “food” an export, or is “wheat”? How about “culture”? The dollar value might be a bit hard to pin down, but which is more significant: the amount of wheat, beef, and produce shipped overseas, or the number of Big Macs sold there? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/6 "2015-06-02T21:53:20Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised to find food \*is \*the biggest export. Biggest as in greatest cubic volume. It’s certainly not the most valuable in dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/7 "2015-06-02T23:04:43Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > How about “culture”? The dollar value might be a bit hard to pin down, but which is more significant: the amount of wheat, beef, and produce shipped overseas, or the number of Big Macs sold there? Of course, it depends on how broadly you define the categories. Is “culture” an export, or is “Duck Dynasty”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/8 "2015-06-02T23:22:37Z")
How do you figure the export value of entertainment? How much Taylor Swift, for example, has America exported so far this year? Do you just count the combined sale price of all her albums that were sold in other countries? How would you count somebody like Avril Lavigne? She’s a Canadian who records for Epic Records, which is an American subsidiary of Sony, a Japanese corporation. And it occurred to me I should check my facts. Turns out Taylor Swift records for Big Machine Records, which is an American subsidiary of Vivendi, which is a French corporation. So is “Shake It Off” an example of French pop culture being exported to America? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/9 "2015-06-02T23:26:12Z")
Are “munitions” an export when we are shooting/dropping them on/at brown people? If not, then “culture” would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/10 "2015-06-02T23:30:14Z")
Aircraft is at the top of [this list](http://www.worldstopexports.com/highest-value-us-export-products/2022) - not sure how this list corresponds with the one in Little\_Pig’s reply from the same site. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/11 "2015-06-02T23:35:41Z")
In dollars, I’d have to imagine it would be commercial airliners. Many hundreds are sold, some for hundreds of millions of dollars apiece. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/12 "2015-06-02T23:38:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, it depends on how broadly you define the categories. Is “food” an export, or is “wheat”? I think if you combined all agriculture into ‘food’ that it would number 6 on [this](http://www.worldstopexports.com/united-states-top-10-exports/2001) chart (previously cited by Little\_Pig). > [@](#): > > ``` > Machines, engines, pumps: US$219,566,232,000 (13.5% of total exports) > Electronic equipment: $171,966,197,000 (10.6%) > Oil: $157,213,437,000 (9.7%) > Vehicles: $135,797,903,000 (8.4%) > Aircraft, spacecraft: $124,831,567,000 (7.7%) > Medical, technical equipment: $84,879,104,000 (5.2%) > Gems, precious metals, coins: $65,522,480,000 (4.0%) > Plastics: $63,025,216,000 (3.9%) > Pharmaceuticals: $43,967,977,000 (2.7%) > Organic chemicals: $42,255,264,000 (2.6%) > > ``` From [here](http://www.fb.org/index.php?fuseaction=newsroom.fastfacts): > [@](#): > > In 2010, $115 billion worth of American agricultural products were exported around the world. The United States sells more food and fiber to world markets than we import, creating a positive agricultural trade balance. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/13 "2015-06-03T00:23:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Are “munitions” an export when we are shooting/dropping them on/at brown people? > > If not, then “culture” would be my guess. This. **silenus** is correct, he does know sh\*t. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/14 "2015-06-03T01:43:30Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Are “munitions” an export when we are shooting/dropping them on/at brown people? **Moderator Warning** **silenus** , I’m sure you’re aware that political jabs are not allowed in General Questions. This is an official warning. Do not do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/15 "2015-06-03T01:44:33Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > This. **silenus** is correct, he does know sh\*t. Don’t encourage him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/16 "2015-06-03T02:28:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, it depends on how broadly you define the categories. Is “food” an export, or is “wheat”? It also depends on how you count things which are assembled or even partly produced elsewhere. If Boeing sells 50 777s fuselages to Lufthansa, but they’re completed in Germany by its German subsidiary, do you only count the cost of the fuselages? ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/17 "2015-06-03T11:03:15Z")
Seriously, one the huge exports of the US is just plain Woo… Bad pseudoscience. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/18 "2015-06-03T11:59:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, it depends on how broadly you define the categories. Is “food” an export, or is “wheat”? I know it’s not for the US, but Wisconsin’s top export (or one of our top exports) is Chinese Ginseng. We’re by far the biggest producer in the US. IIRC, the majority of what we export, overseas, goes to China. Chinese Ginseng has been coming from Wisconsin for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/19 "2015-06-03T12:26:43Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > [Machines, engines, pumps.](http://www.worldstopexports.com/united-states-top-10-exports/2001) Oil comes in at number 3. I thought Food/Agriculture would be somewhere in the top 10. Nope. That site surprised me. And the idea that the United States exports $135 billion in autos really surprised me. I know we manufacture a lot of cars, but I didn’t realize we export so many. And I am shocked that food exports doesn’t make the list. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477/20 "2015-06-03T13:13:29Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > That site surprised me. And the idea that the United States exports $135 billion in autos really surprised me. I know we manufacture a lot of cars, but I didn’t realize we export so many. Well, don’t get too excited. We import about $250 billion worth of automobiles and light trucks per year. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-top-export-of-the-usa/721477.md?page=2)