East MichiganEDCs/EDOs Information and

Strategy MeetingRegional Exporting Strategies Project

Michigan State UniversityCenter for Community and Economic Development

Thursday, December 15, 201110:00 am – 12:00 pm 

• November 4th Think Global, Go Global Workshop at Delta College Onsite Survey Results.

• East Michigan Online SME Exporting Survey Results and Findings, Fall, 2011.

Overview of today’s presentation

• East Michigan EDC/EDO Responses

– 8 Local EDC/EDO responses.

– 5 Currently provide export info. to companies.

– 5 Want to provide info./assistance.

– 7 Want to expand export assistance capacity.

Nov 4, 2011 Think Global Workshop at Delta College Onsite survey results summary

• East Michigan Business Responses

– 7 Business responses (5 attended workshop).

– 6 Currently exporting.

– 5 need exporting assistance.

Nov 4, 2011 Think Global Workshop at Delta College Onsite survey results summary

• East Michigan Business Export Assistance Needs

– Basic knowledge about exporting.

– Info. on foreign markets.

– Foreign contacts to promote business.

– Sources of capital to finance exports.

– Legal advice about trade regulations/foreign markets.

– Logistics support/knowledge.

Nov 4, 2011 Think Global Workshop at Delta College Onsite survey results summary

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011)Survey link distribution

Distribution Outreach Requested Agreed

Chamber of Commerce 21 17

EDC/EDOs 12 12

Business Assistance Providers 7 6

• 47 businesses responded.– 17 (~36%) Saginaw– 11 (~23%) Midland– 4 (~8%) Gratiot – 4 (~8%) Bay– 3 (~6%) Tuscola– 2 (~4%) Gladwin

• 26 of 44 companies (59%) < 50 employees.– 17 companies (39%) < 10 employees.

• 32 of 43 companies (74%) > 10 years old.

• 23 of 46 companies (50%) engaged in manufacturing.

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011)Characteristics of survey respondents

• 16 businesses in 6 counties export:– 8 Saginaw.– 2 Gratiot.– 2 Midland.– 2 Ogemaw.– 1 Bay.– 1 Tuscola.

• Industry sector– 13 manufacturing.– 1 agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting.– 1 wholesale trade.– 1 accommodation and food services.

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011)Characteristics of exporting companies

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011)Characteristics of exporting companies

Less than 10

10-25

26-50

51-100

101-500

Greater than 500

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Full-Time Equivalent Employees

Less than 1 year

1-5 years

6-10 years

Greater than 10 years

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Company Age

• East Michigan companies largely exporting to Canada.– Followed closely by Mexico, the UK, and China.

• 13 exporters want to expand their exporting business.

• 2 non-exporting companies want to start exporting.

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011)Potential export market development

– 10 of 15 companies cited at least one Knowledge barrier:• Lack of knowledge about export regulations; • logistics/transportation; and• foreign markets. 

– 10 of 15 companies cited at least one Financial barrier:• insufficient working capital; and• labor resources; • excessive financial risk; • administration costs; and• cost to compete. 

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011) Major exporting barriers

– 5 of 15 companies cited at least one Regulatory barrier:• excessive trade regulations; • Unfair foreign trade practices; and• foreign tariffs. 

– 3 of 15 companies cited at least one Infrastructure barrier:• Insufficient information/communications technology; and• access to international crossings.

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011) Secondary exporting barriers

• 13 companies indicated they could use assistance to overcome exporting barriers.– 9 need general export and trade information– 9 Marketing – 8 Logistics – 7 Market research– 4 Legal matters– 4 Export financing

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011) Export assistance needs

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011)

US International Trade Administration

US Commercial Service

US Export Assistance Centers

US District Export Councils

US Export-Import Bank

SBA Export Working Capital Program

SBA International Trade Loan Program

SBA Export Express Program

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)

US Trade and Development Agency

USDA Foreign Agriculture Service

Export.gov website

TradeStats Express website

Market Research Library website

USA Trade Online website

US Exporters' Yellow Pages

0 5 10 15 20 25

Awareness of Exporting Assistance

Very Helpful

Somewhat Helpful

Not Helpful

Aware/But Not Used

Not Aware

• 5 companies indicated they used business counseling or assistance to start exporting.

• 4 of these 5 companies found counseling/assistance very useful or somewhat useful.

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011) Export assistance experience

East MI Online Exporting Survey (Fall 2011) Reactive character of export market development by SMEs

• How did companies get connected with foreign customers?– 11 of 15 companies contacted by prospective foreign customers.– 6 of 15 connected at industry trade show or conference.– 4 of 15 referred by foreign contact or distributor.

• Foster “Sister City” relationships.

• Identify and support industry and geographic clusters.

• Inventory/assessment of exporters and potential exporters in region.

• Access to capital (loans, loan guarantees, grants, venture capital, angels).

• Resources to reduce burden of export market entry.

• Market research for specific countries and specific products/services.

• Export education, training, and outreach (community college, universities, other).

Potential Elements of Regional Exporting Strategies