The metro Milwaukee area saw its total exports decline 5.3% in 2024, among the sharpest drops among metros in the Midwest, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Only Detroit and Columbus, Ohio – among the 10 metros tracked in the Midwest – saw bigger drops. Detroit was down 11.7% to $40.6 billion and Columbus was down 7.3% to $8 billion.
Metro Milwaukee’s exports totaled $8.9 billion in 2024, down from $9.4 billion in 2023.
Four Midwest metros saw year-over-year increases in exports, led by Indianapolis, which was up 26.7% to $26.2 billion. St. Louis was up 15.9% to $16 billion, Peoria, Illinois increased 10% to $5.4 billion and Kansas City increased 2.6% to $10.9 billion.
Other metros tracked in the Census data included Chicago, down 2.5% to $57.5 billion, Minneapolis-St. Paul, down 2% to $21.7 billion, and Cleveland, down 4.2% to $9.5 billion.
Nationally, all metro area exports were up 1.6%, led by the West, up 4.1% and the South, up 2.7%.
The Midwest metros were down 0.2% for the year while the Northeast saw a 3.6% decline.
Milwaukee’s year was hampered by a particularly bad fourth quarter when exports decreased 9.6% year-over-year. The Midwest metros as a whole were down 4.3% in the fourth quarter and all metros nationally were down 1.6%.
Prior to the fourth quarter, Milwaukee was trending down with a 3.8% decrease for the first nine months of the year.
