South Carolina maintained its standing as the national leader in completed passenger vehicle exports and tire exports in 2025, extending the state’s unbroken streak to 11 consecutive years atop the tire export rankings while retaining the top position in passenger vehicle exports for another year. Together, those two export categories represent more than $11 billion in annual sales and reflect the outsized economic footprint of Spartanburg County manufacturers on the state’s export economy.
Completed passenger vehicle exports from South Carolina totaled $9.8 billion in 2025, representing 18% of the entire U.S. market for exported passenger vehicles. BMW Manufacturing, based in Greer within Spartanburg County, is the engine behind that statistic. The BMW plant in the Spartanburg area is the company’s largest single manufacturing facility in the world by output, producing X-series sport activity vehicles that are shipped to markets across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. When a BMW rolls off the dock at the Port of Charleston, it almost certainly was built by Spartanburg County workers.
South Carolina’s tire export total reached $2 billion in 2025, a 7% increase year over year, representing 43% of total U.S. tire export market share. This marks 11 consecutive years as the national tire export leader — a streak driven by Michelin North America, which maintains manufacturing operations in Spartanburg County alongside its North American headquarters in nearby Greenville. Michelin’s plants in the region produce premium tires distributed across global markets, and that sustained production has given South Carolina a tire export profile that no other state approaches.
The broader South Carolina export picture for 2025 includes motor vehicles and parts, aircraft and parts, and machinery and parts as the top three commodity categories. Ball and roller bearings — components used extensively in automotive, aerospace, and industrial machinery applications — ranked South Carolina second nationally, with $287 million in sales representing 10.5% of the U.S. market. That bearing export figure reflects the deep supplier network that has developed around Spartanburg’s automotive manufacturing hub, with precision component manufacturers embedded throughout the county’s industrial base.
Germany remained South Carolina’s largest export partner in 2025, accounting for $5.1 billion in export sales — a 3.5% increase. Mexico and Canada followed as the second and third largest partners. South Carolina goods reached 198 countries and territories in 2025, reflecting a remarkably diverse global footprint for a single state’s manufacturing output. The aircraft and parts category saw the sharpest growth, with market share rising 31% from 2024 as exports to Qatar and Taiwan surged.
Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III described the 2025 export performance as evidence of South Carolina’s advanced manufacturing sector’s strength. SC Ports President and CEO Micah Mallace noted that more than 70% of cargo moving through South Carolina Ports originates from in-state companies — the highest share of any major East Coast container port. For Spartanburg County, which sits at the geographic center of the I-85 manufacturing corridor, that statistic reflects local workers, local plants, and local products reaching global markets daily.
