(FORTUNE Magazine) – WHAT A YEAR for exporters! Led by huge individual increases, overseas sales of America's top 50 soared 22% last year, to nearly $97 billion -- by far the biggest jump since FORTUNE began compiling the annual ranking in 1980. Fast- growing Compaq Computer, one of seven new companies on the list, led the gainers with a rise of 102%. Companies fell from the list not because their exports decreased -- they didn't -- but because they failed to grow fast enough. Cummins Engine, No. 43 last year, pushed overseas sales up 17%, to nearly $500 million. Not good enough to make this year's ranking. General Motors held its customary lead despite a weak 7.6% increase. No. 2 Ford Motor narrowed the gap with slippery-shaped models that are popular in Europe. Ford's exports rose twice as fast as GM's; another year like that and GM will slip from the top spot for the first time since 1982. Much of both companies' trade doesn't go far -- they ship body parts and chassis to assembly plants in Canada, which send most of the cars back to the U.S. (To calculate total exports, FORTUNE counts both direct sales to foreign customers and intercompany transfers to non-U.S. operations.) Chrysler, which sold its European operations in the 1970s to raise cash, opened export offices in five European countries last year. With consumers clamoring for minivans and Jeep Cherokees, shipments were up 42%. Boeing stands out as the most export-oriented of the bunch. Nearly half its sales came from abroad last year, and close to two-thirds may this year. Foreign air travel has been surging. By mid-June, Boeing had already delivered 86 aircraft to foreign buyers; only 46 jets went to domestic companies. McDonnell Douglas's 7% increase in exports last year was anemic in comparison with Boeing's. The company blames a dip in orders of the F-18 jet fighter. Exports of commercial aircraft rose 54%. In a year of strong performances, chemicals did best, with fully a fourth of the companies on FORTUNE's list in that business. Among them, Ethyl (No. 49) was the champ in export growth. The company credited higher prices for most products and an increased sales force in the Far East. Bromine, introduced in Asia recently as a flame retardant, sold particularly well there, as did plastic films. Europe also proved a fertile market. Export sales jumped 48%. The most notable new entries were pharmaceutical makers Abbott Laboratories, Baxter International, and Bayer USA (subsidiary of Bayer AG of West Germany). Their presence reflects the industry's growing international clout, mainly because of lower prices due to the weaker dollar. Only two years ago Merck was the first drug company ever to make the top 50. Aluminum Co. of America (No. 43) returned to the list after a two-year absence. The price of aluminum shot up as worldwide inventories hit their lowest level in a decade. The relatively weak dollar made U.S. smelters the low-cost producers. Alcoa's foreign sales of aluminum ingot and finished and semifinished products increased 75%. The top U.S. exporters see an even better year in 1989. Foreign competitors, with their stress on market share, still hang tough. But the Americans are relying on increased efficiency from retooled plants and help from a dollar that, despite its recent rebound, remains 33% below its 1985 peak. With the trade deficit still running $105 billion annually, America needs another year that's even better than the last one.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CAPTION: AMERICA'S 50 BIGGEST EXPORTERS