Orange County’s export growth is set to resume next year, boosted by the weak dollar and recovering economies around the world.
Exports from the county could grow by 9% to 11% next year, according to Esmael Adibi, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University in Orange.
“We believe the export market is going to do extremely well this coming year,” Adibi said. “The economies of our trading partners are improving significantly. Because of that demand, our exports will increase.”
Companies here export about $11 billion worth of goods a year. Shipments are estimated to be down about 20% this year from 2008.
The dollar is a big factor for 2010. The greenback has gained some ground in recent weeks but still is down about 7% this year versus the euro.
The Obama administration appears to have kept the Bush administration’s unofficial policy of a weak dollar to spur exports.
“A combination of the improvement in the economy and the lower value of the dollar is what really drives the stronger export market,” Adibi said.
John Graham, a professor of marketing and international business at the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, isn’t as bullish on the outlook for exports.
“Yes, the stock market has recovered, but I’m not confident we will get back to where we were before (the downturn) any time soon,” Graham said.
The county is a big exporter of technology products, medical devices, transportation equipment, entertainment and related services.
Irvine-based Vizio Inc., which sells flat TVs produced in Asia, is expanding its global sales.
Last year, Vizio started selling TVs to retailers in Canada. This year, Vizio is heading to Mexico.
The company is on track to sell 6 million TVs in 2009, up from 3.6 million in 2008.
