Economists Say State Export Growth Lagging In Mass.

Economists say Massachusetts has been lagging behind the nation as a whole in one key area of international trade.

MassBenchmarks, a journal of the state's economy, said in a report Wednesday that Massachusetts ranked 49th out of the 50 states in export growth between 2009 and 2013.

While U.S. exports have increased 50 percent since the Great Recession, exports from the Bay State have been, in the words of the economists, "fairly anemic," rising by just 14 percent.

The report notes that Massachusetts had largely kept pace with the U.S. in export growth prior to the recession between 2002 and 2008.

While calling the state's lackluster exports performance an area of potential concern, the economists also noted that Massachusetts has little or no presence in several key industries, including automobiles.