Intel accounts for 60 percent of Oregon's exports to China, according to Bill Wyatt, executive director of the Port of Portland.
Metro Portland ranked third among the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in terms of the share — 18.2 percent — that exports made up of the metro area’s economy in 2010. The Portland area also ranked third in export growth from 2003 to 2008, and fifth for the same indicator from 2009 to 2010.
Exports are especially significant these days because many foreign markets outperform the U.S. economy, giving internationally connected cities a way to boost sales and create jobs. The Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank that conducted the “Export Nation 2012” study for release Thursday, calculated that exports of goods and services directly supported more than 70,000 Portland-area jobs in 2010.