Southern New Mexico now state's No.1 export zone

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Southern New Mexico has dethroned the central region of the state as New Mexico's No.1 export zone thanks to a booming border port and declining activity at Intel Corp. The Albuquerque Journal reports the U.S. Commerce Department's latest report on exports showed exports from the Albuquerque metropolitan area plummeted 43 percent last year, from $1.76 billion in 2015 to $1 billion in 2016. Meanwhile, Dona Ana County's exports declined by only 1.5 percent, to $1.57 billion, making it the state's largest export zone for the first time. Albuquerque Bernalillo County Trade Alliance manager Randy Trask says Albuquerque's fall from grace is not a reflection of export stagnation in the metro area, but rather it shows Rio Rancho's Intel's apparently shrinking role in the local economy.