The Top 3 Industries That Utah Exports

If you had to take a guess as to what Utah's main exports are, you just might be surprised to find it is not green jello and fry sauce.  Someone might think that Utah does not really have any products that are shipped out and that because the BLM owns roughly 42% of the land in the beehive state that all state income comes from either taxes, tourists, or recreation.  While this is only mostly true, Utah has at least 3 industries that are exported all over the world. What are these products that come this great state?

#3 Chemicals

This actually surprised me at first.  According to The Utah Geological Survey Utah is 1 of only 3 states in the US that produces Potash. Potash is a water-soluble potassium salts, most commonly in the form of potassium chloride (KCl). Potash minerals are primarily used as fertilizer, it is also used in the production of soaps, glass, ceramics, and batteries. There are 3 main production sited located near the Great Salt Lake, Wendover, and Moab. The Export of chemical make up as of 2023  about 8.6% of Utah's Exported Manufactured Products.

#2 Electronics and Computers

This is not really surprising considering the rise of Silicon Slopes near Thanksgiving point. But there are many electronics companies that are located in the Salt Lake area, including: Eaton, Siemens, and Panasonic. And according to a media release by Governor Spencer Cox in 2023, Texas Instruments will be Adding a factory in Lehi, to produce semiconductors.  The production of electronics make up about 11.9% of Utah's Manufactured Exports.

#1 Primary Metals

Primary metal manufacturing contributed 41.4% of Utah’s total exports and $7.2 billion in value.  This actually makes sense if you just take a look to the south west of Salt Lake City, you will see The Bingham Canyon Mine, more commonly known as The Kennecott Copper Mine among locals.  This open-pi mine began production in 1906 and today is a pit over 0.75 miles (1,210 m) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and covering 1,900 acres (3.0 sq mi; 770 ha; 7.7 km²). and is known to be the worlds largest open-pit mine in the world, making Utah only the second largest producer of copper in the US behind Arizona. And according to The Utah Geological Survey, Utah is also known for mining large amounts of unwrought gold, Silver, Lead, and manganese.