Not that long ago Downtown lawyer Dennis Unkovic had to "beg" local companies to sell their products overseas.

"They would say, 'Oh, I don't know .... It's too difficult,'" said the partner with Meyer Unkovic & Scott. Or, "'I'm making enough domestically.'"

The hesitancy, he thought, had something to do with a generational mind-set, or the memories of what foreign competition did to Pittsburgh's heavy manufacturing base in the 1970s and 1980s. "I think there was a lack of self-confidence after what the Japanese and Koreans did to our economy. I think people were shell-shocked."

But newly released statistics suggest that opportunity, not fear, is now a prime motivator for local companies and that Pittsburgh is making a comeback in world markets, addressing long-held concerns about its ability to compete globally while providing a potential cushion for the local economy should the United States enter a recession.

In 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, $8.2 billion in local goods were shipped overseas, more than double the amount exported in 1996. Measured on a per capita basis, the Pittsburgh area transported $3,491 in exports per person, compared with $1,657 per person in 1996. It was among the top 25 U.S. cities in both categories, shipping more in total value than Cleveland; Austin, Texas; Kansas City, Mo.; Indianapolis; and Tampa, Fla., while exporting more on a per capita basis than Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C.

Also notable is that the value of exports from the Pittsburgh area increased 20 percent from 2005 to 2006 -- the 14th largest jump among U.S. cities and a better year-to-year improvement than New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and Orlando, Fla.

"Pittsburgh has grown up," Mr. Unkovic said. "It realizes now it can play with the big boys; and I think these statistics reflect that" -- as does Mr. Unkovic's recent travel schedule (he was out of the country on 10 separate business trips last year, for a total of three months).

The questions and handwringing about the region's poor exporting performance compared with other similar-sized U.S. cities reached their height a decade ago. Several theories abounded: Was it parochialism? A lack of education about the importance of exports? Confusion about where to turn for help? Fear of the risks? Resentment about the jobs lost to international competitors in the 1970s and 1980s? A failure as a region to make exports a high priority?

"Any data we had always said Pittsburgh was a low exporter," said Harold Miller, a Downtown management and policy consultant who was the first to post the new Commerce Department data earlier this week on his blog at www. pittsburghfuture.blogspot.com. Mr. Miller became familiar with the local exporting challenges in the 1990s while he was president of the business booster group Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

"It was often attributed to the fact that we had a lot of family-owned businesses doing well with domestic consumers and not really interested in entering new international markets," he said. Going international was a "difficult and complicated leap to make." But with the U.S. market slowing, local companies have no other choice, he added.

"It's become a necessity to ship" globally, he said. "It has become truly a world market."

Primary metals was the No. 1 export from Pittsburgh in 2006, followed by chemicals, coal and machinery. No surprises there -- all are components of southwestern Pennsylvania's manufacturing base, which is still responsible for almost 9 percent of the region's jobs and almost 15 percent of employment-generated income. Just last week, Moon-based Nova Chemicals Corp. told analysts global exports helped the company post record results in 2007, with their polystyrene products being used in food packaging by clients in China, India, Turkey, Africa and Latin America.

"We heard the North American export window is closing. We could not disagree more," said Nova President Chris Pappas.

Fifth on the list of top exports from the Pittsburgh area are computer and electronic products -- a sign, perhaps, that Pittsburgh's technology community is gaining traction overseas. One of many local examples is Akustica, a 6¹/₂-year-old company on Pittsburgh's South Side that makes tiny microphone chips for laptops and cell phones. It relies on China, where many of the world's consumer electronic products are assembled, for 70 percent of its business.

"It's been one heck of a learning experience," said Davin Yuknis, Akustica's vice president of marketing and product management. "You learn there are different ways of doing business over there."

China purchased $523 million in goods from the Pittsburgh area in 2006, more than Germany but less than Belgium (a port for locations across Europe), Mexico and Canada, which was No. 1 with $2.1 billion. Last decade, China was a much smaller purchaser -- buying just $88.4 million from Pittsburgh-area companies in 1999 -- and its rise mirrors the country's ascension as an economic power growing at a rate of 10 percent a year. China is the No. 3 export market for the entire state of Pennsylvania.

Some of the single largest local exporters to China are chemical manufacturer Lanxess Corp. ($55.6 million); industrial instruments firm International Steel Services Inc. ($55.5 million); and tool maker Kennametal (more than $20 million), according to separate figures from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

Local exports to China were up 15 percent in 2006, trailing jumps in many other cities, suggesting there is more room for movement. China could overcome Belgium and perhaps Mexico, but Lyn Doverspike of the Commerce Department's U.S. Commercial Service in Pittsburgh doubts the world's fastest-growing economy can overtake Canada as the No. 1 destination for Pittsburgh-area exports.

Canada remains "a very easy market for U.S. companies to get into," she said. "With the exception of Montreal, there are no language issues."

Most exporters, she said, are small- to medium-sized businesses, and a majority sell to only one market (Canada). But overall, "people are getting more educated about exporting" and aware of what can happen if they focus only on the United States. "We make up 5 percent of the world," she said. "If you are only concentrating on the domestic market, you are really doing yourself a disservice."

Pittsburgh's exporting performance in 2006 suggests to Mr. Miller that "we still have a strong manufacturing base here" and that "there is significant opportunity for growth," particularly in China. Nor does he believe that more exporting will lead to fewer jobs in Pittsburgh.

As an example, he cited the success of nuclear power company Westinghouse Electric Co., which last year won a contract to supply the Chinese with four new reactors and due to global demand, started work on a new headquarters in Cranberry that will add 1,000 to 2,000 jobs to the Pittsburgh area over the next five years.

If the U.S. economy slides into a recession, as some are predicting, "exporting is particularly important," he added, because "it makes us less dependent on changes in domestic markets."