Canada was at the top of the top destinations for auto exports from the United States from January to August 2023, according to Commerce Department data.

But sales in that direction fell 8.3% compared with the same period last year, to $10.53 billion.

Next were Germany ($5.68 billion), China ($4.199 billion), Mexico ($2.666 billion) and the United Arab Emirates ($2.476 billion).

U.S. light vehicle production declined from 11 million units in 2018 to 8.6 million units in 2020, before partially recovering to 9.8 million units in 2022.

The significant decline in 2020 was primarily due to production disruptions, parts shortages due to issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic and chip shortages.

In response to the onset of the pandemic, U.S. light vehicle manufacturers shut down or reduced production from mid-March through May 2020.

This loss of U.S. production time contributed to a 20% decline in vehicle production across the North American region, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC).

Auto Exports

Despite the decline in U.S. light vehicle production, the share of U.S. producers in U.S. light vehicle consumption increased over the period, from 48.7% in 2018 to 54.5% in 2022.

This increase in the share of U.S. vehicle consumption met by U.S. production may indicate an improvement in the competitiveness of U.S. vehicle production compared to imported vehicles.

Other relevant destinations for auto exports from the United States in the first eight months of 2023 were South Korea ($1,907 million, -24.7 percent), Belgium ($1,615 million, +85 percent), Saudi Arabia ($1,447 million, +48.8 percent), Georgia ($888 million, +102.8 million), and Australia ($856 million, +20.5 percent).

To the entire world, U.S. auto exports totaled $41.95 billion, an increase of 11.2 percent over the same period in 2022.