Minnesota
Area (sq. km)
Population, 2008 estimate
Population Rank:
Jewish Population in 2007:
Jewish Percentage of Total Population:
Military Contracts with Israel in 2006 Using Foreign Military
Financing:
Exports to Israel in 2008:
Percentage change from 2006:
Total exports to Israel since 1996:
Israel's rank as trade partner:
Real GSP 2007, (millions of chained 2000 dollars)
Gross State Product Per Capita:
Unemployment rate:
Number of Fortune 1000 Companies
86,943
5,220,393
21
46,685
0.9
$3,900,241
$10,9845,604
-12.2
$692,156,373
28
$217,028
$41,573
8.1%
32
AGRICULTURE
The agriculture and food industry is the second largest employer in the state.
Minnesota has over 79,600 farms which account for 55% percent of land use.
Nationally, Minnesota ranks number 5 in food exports. Minnesota has a very large
food processing industry, and 2/3 of all agricultural jobs in the state are off-farm, in
the food processing, distribution, supply, and service sectors.
Major food processing companies that call Minnesota home include Cargill, Schwan
Food Company, General Mills and Land O’Lakes.
The main farming areas are in southern Minnesota, where corn, soybeans, and oats
are important, and in the Red River Valley along the western border, where wheat,
barley, sugar beets, and potatoes are among the chief crops. The state is also a leader
in the production of creamery butter, dry milk, cheese, and sweet corn.
The livestock industry contributes more than $10 billion annually to the state’s
economy, and directly and indirectly employs nearly 100,000 Minnesotans. Hogs are
the top livestock commodity in the state.
LOGISTICS/TRANSPORTATION
Access to the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Atlantic Ocean, as well
as to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, helps make Minnesota a major
marketing and distribution center for the upper Midwest. Minneapolis-St. Paul ranks
fifth among U.S metropolitan areas for transportation infrastructure.
LIFE SCIENCES
Minnesota ranked 14th among states in biotech growth leadership. There are 585
FDA approved medical device establishments currently in Minnesota and Minnesota
companies and research institutions have been first in developing many important
medical devices such as the implantable cardiac pacemaker, artificial heart valves.,
implantable drug transfusion pump, anesthesia monitors, blood pumps, the artificial
urinary sphincter, the in-the-ear hearing aid, and a wireless cardiac monitoring
system. Some of the US’s leading companies operate in the state including,
Medtronic, 3M, Boston Scientific Scimed, St. Jude Medical, Patterson Companies,
American Medical Systems, the Mayo Clinic, Amplifon USA, MGI Pharma, and
others. Between 2002 and 2006, Minnesota registered 2,333 patents in medical
decides, ranking second in the nation.
Mayo Clinic, located in Rochester MN, is world renowned hospital and research
institution, and perhaps the most famous hospital in the country. The system employs
more than 30,000 people, and half a million people from around the world chose to
receive their treatment at Mayo Clinic.
Furthermore, the government of Minnesota has pledged 70 million dollars in funding
to promote biotechnology in the state, fund R&D and attract top scientists.
R&D
According to Business Facilities Minnesota’s companies invested $4.5 billion in
research and development in 2005, ranking 13th nationwide according to the U.S.
Sourcebook of R&D Spenders. 3M and Medtronic spent more than $1.1billion each,
ranking 26th and 27th among more than 2,500 U.S. companies. In patents per capita,
Minnesota ranks among the top five states, with 47 new patents registered per
100,000 residents in 2005. Additionally The Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation ranks Minnesota 11th nationwide in its “2007 State New Economy
Index.” Minnesota ranked particularly high in:
 package exports (1st)
 high-wage traded services (4th)
 online population (4th)
 IT professionals (7th)
 managerial, professional and technical jobs (7th)
 industry investment in R&D (8th)
 manufacturing value-added (9th)
 e-government (9th)
Finally, Minnesota firms received $490 million in venture capital investment during
2008. Minnesota ranks 1st in the Midwest.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Minnesota has 16 ethanol plants and 3 bio diesel plants. Total ethanol production
capacity is 620 million gallons annually. The state has a 10% mandate for ethanol and
a 2% mandate for bio diesel.
Additionally, in 2007, the state of Minnesota pledged more than 40 million dollars to
spur renewable energy research. Much of this money will go to fund wind power
initiatives, as Minnesota is home to many wind turbine manufactures such as Suzlon,
Columbia Gear Corp, Wind Logics and Remmele Engineering. Minnesota law
requires that renewable energy provide 25% of the state’s power needs by 2025.
INSURANCE
Minnesota is very strong in the insurance sector. UnitedHealth Group, the second
largest health insurer in the country is based in the state. Other prominent insurance
providers include Travelers, U.S. Bancorp, Thrivent, Financial for Lutherans,
Securian Financial Group, and Federated Mutual Insurance.
RETAIL
Minnesota is home to Target, a national “big box” retailer, and Best Buy, a large
electronics chain. The famous Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States,
is also located in Minnesota.
MANUFACTURING/INDUSTRIAL
Manufacturing in Minnesota accounts for about 12% of all jobs in the state. In 2008
Minnesota's export shipments of merchandise totaled $19.2 billion. The state's largest
export category is computers and electronic products, this accounted for $4.1 billion
or 21 percent of Minnesota exports. Machinery is the second largest in export value
led the state’s manufacturing industries in export gains ($326 million). Additional top
export categories are machinery manufactures ($2.9 billion in 2008), transportation
equipment ($2.1 billion), and miscellaneous manufactures ($2.0 billion).
In 2008 Minnesota ranked 20th in value among the 50 states. The majority of
Minnesota’s manufacturing industries increased exports in 2008.
The Top 10 export groups in Minnesota for 2007 were: computers/electronics,
machinery. Transportation equipment, medical devices, food, chemicals, electronic
equipment, paper, fabricated metals, plastics and rubber.
Minnesota is one of the nation's largest producers of iron ore. Methods developed to
use lower-grade ores such as taconite have kept production up in spite of the depletion
of once rich high-grade deposits. Granite (from St. Cloud) and sand and gravel
production are also among the largest in the country.
Other manufactured products in the state include weapons and ammunition, cans,
stampings, printed materials (commercial print shops, newspaper and book
publishers), aircraft parts and wood products (plywood).
3M is a large presence in the state, and manufactures a variety of products including,
adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, dental products, electrical
materials, electronic circuits, and optical films.
Israeli Companies
Instruments and Related
Products Manufacturing for
Measuring, Displaying, and
Controlling Industrial
ACS Motion Control Inc. Process Variables
adult stem cell extraction
Bio Regenerate
and storage solutions
Wired Telecommunications
Allot Communications Inc Carriers
Custom Computer
Correlate Technologies Inc Programming Services
www.acsmotioncontrol.co
m
www.bioregenerate.com
www.allot.com
www.correlate.com
http://www.trade.gov/td/industry/otea/state_reports/minnesota.html
http://www.deed.state.mn.us/facts/PDFs/BioTechFctsht.pdf
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0859664.html
http://www.bea.gov/regional/gsp/action.cfm
http://www.exportminnesota.com/PDFs/2009%20PDFs/ExportFullAnnualReport2008
.pdf