Wholesale trade in 1997 totaled $61 billion. Retail sales for 1997 amounted to $51 billion. Statewide, automotive dealers accounted for 14% of establishments; food stores, 8%; and eating and drinking places, 35%.
The state engages in foreign as well as domestic trade through the Great Lakes ports of Superior-Duluth, Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Kenosha. Iron ore and grain are shipped primarily from Superior-Duluth, while Milwaukee handles the heaviest volume of general merchandise. Wisconsin exported about $10 billion in goods (18th in the US) in 1998. Greater Milwaukee is a foreign-trade zone where goods can enter duty-free under certain conditions.