Texas ports of entry accounted for more than $1 trillion in international trade in 2024.1 Texas has 32 official ports of entry that serve as critical gateways to global trade. Each port — whether an airport, land port or seaport — serves many domestic and international economic activities across multiple industries. Each port also plays a distinctive role in the state’s transportation network and contributes to state and local economies.
Of Texas’ total international trade, $86.9 billion in goods, or 8.2 percent, traveled through airports or intermodal ports, with DFW Airport accounting for 72.1 percent of the airport and intermodal trade, or about $62.6 billion (Exhibit 1).
Based on the Comptroller’s estimate, trade through DFW Airport in 2024 resulted in 89,000 net jobs and contributed $8.3 billion to Texas’ gross domestic product (GDP) (Exhibit 1).
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Total direct trade value | $62.6 billion |
| Gross domestic product | $8.3 billion |
| Total employment | 89,380 |
Notes: “Gross domestic product” refers to the total value of all final goods and services produced in Texas; “Total employment” refers to both direct and indirect employment.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online; Regional Economic Models Inc. model for Texas; Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts analysis.
Shipping activity through DFW Airport accounted for $62.6 billion in trade in 2024 — an increase of 148 percent, or $37.4 billion, since 2003 (Exhibit 2).
| Year | Exports | Imports | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | $12.8 | $12.4 | $25.2 |
| 2004 | $15.9 | $17.0 | $33.0 |
| 2005 | $17.1 | $20.3 | $37.4 |
| 2006 | $19.5 | $25.4 | $44.9 |
| 2007 | $19.9 | $24.9 | $44.8 |
| 2008 | $18.1 | $25.2 | $43.2 |
| 2009 | $16.3 | $21.7 | $38.0 |
| 2010 | $17.2 | $25.7 | $42.9 |
| 2011 | $17.2 | $29.7 | $46.9 |
| 2012 | $18.1 | $31.4 | $49.4 |
| 2013 | $17.5 | $33.8 | $51.3 |
| 2014 | $19.6 | $35.6 | $55.2 |
| 2015 | $20.9 | $33.6 | $54.4 |
| 2016 | $21.8 | $30.7 | $52.5 |
| 2017 | $23.5 | $32.1 | $55.6 |
| 2018 | $23.6 | $31.3 | $54.9 |
| 2019 | $24.3 | $34.9 | $59.2 |
| 2020 | $22.3 | $27.8 | $50.1 |
| 2021 | $26.0 | $35.5 | $61.5 |
| 2022 | $28.5 | $37.8 | $66.2 |
| 2023 | $27.6 | $37.1 | $64.7 |
| 2024 | $28.1 | $34.5 | $62.6 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online.
The top export commodities by value from DFW Airport in 2024 were electric machinery and equipment ($10 billion), followed by machinery and mechanical appliances ($9.1 billion) and aircraft and spacecraft equipment ($4.1 billion). These commodities accounted for 47 percent of the port’s total exports. Top imports to the port included electrical machinery and equipment ($11.4 billion), machinery and mechanical appliances ($10.6 billion) and special classification provisions ($3 billion) (Exhibit 3).
| Commodity | Value (in millions) |
|---|---|
| Electric Machinery and Equipment | $10,012.3 |
| Machinery and Mechanical Appliances | $9,069.5 |
| Aircraft and Spacecraft Equipment | $4,144.6 |
| Optical and Photographic Instruments | $1,851.4 |
| Pharmaceutical Products | $674.9 |
| Total All Commodities | $28,118.1 |
| Commodity | Import Value (in millions) |
|---|---|
| Electric Machinery and Equipment | $11,441.2 |
| Machinery and Mechanical Appliances | $10,646.7 |
| Special Classification Provisions | $2,950.5 |
| Optical and Photographic Instruments | $,1846.1 |
| Precious and Semiprecious Stones | $1,639.4 |
| Total All Commodities | $34,479.8 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online.
The value of exports from DFW Airport to its top five recipient countries was $13.7 billion in 2024, or 47.2 percent of its total. South Korea was the leading destination for exported goods, receiving 15 percent of all exported commodities from the port (Exhibit 4).
| Country | Exports Value (in billions) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Korea, South | $4.3 | 15% |
| Taiwan | $2.8 | 10% |
| China | $2.8 | 10% |
| Japan | $1.8 | 6% |
| Netherlands | $1.5 | 5% |
| Other | $14.9 | 53% |
| Total | $28.1 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online.
DFW Airport’s top five import trading partners accounted for 50 percent of its $35.5 billion in imports in 2024, with China and Taiwan comprising nearly a quarter of all imports (Exhibit 5).
| Country | Imports Value (in billions) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| China | $4.8 | 14% |
| Taiwan | $4.6 | 13% |
| Korea, South | $3.3 | 10% |
| Vietnam | $2.5 | 7% |
| United Kingdom | $2.0 | 6% |
| Other | $17.2 | 50% |
| Total | $34.5 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online.
DFW Airport has seen a steady increase in both total aircraft movements and number of passengers between 2022 and 2024, with increases of 13.2 and 19.7 percent,2 respectively (Exhibit 6).
| Year | Total Cargo (metric tons) | Aircraft Movements (landing and takeoff) | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 71,051 | 656,676 | 73,354,440 |
| 2023 | 65,267 | 689,569 | 81,755,538 |
| 2024 | 68,761 | 743,203 | 87,817,864 |
Note: Arriving and departing passengers, as well as direct transit passengers, are each counted once.
Source: DFW Airport — Traffic Statistics.