As of 2018, Germany is no longer Brainport Eindhoven’s largest export destination. According to the Brainport Monitor published Tuesday, companies from the region in the south of the Netherlands export more to the United States (3.0 billion euros) and to China (2.6 billion euros) than to our neighbor to the east (2.3 billion euros). Total exports from Brainport grew 17.7 percent to 31.9 billion euros in 2018 (this number includes 7.3 billion re-exports), whereas nationally, they increased by 5.2 percent. Since 2008, Brainport’s exports have been growing double the nationwide rate.
Brainport’s economy grew 3.3 percent last year, which is significantly less than the 5.6 percent reported in 2017 but higher than the national growth of 2.6 percent. Only the Amsterdam metropolitan area grew a little faster, ie 3.4 percent. Economic growth in the Netherlands is expected to decline further this year, the CBS warned recently.