Photo courtesy of the City of Laredo – Port Laredo.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock in September began a Good for Texas Tour of state ports, which serve as critical gateways to global trade. With 32 official ports of entry — plus two intermodal logistics facilities — Texas is a central part of the U.S. trade universe, accounting for 20 percent of the country’s trade.
No. 1 in trade!
The state’s expansive Gulf Coast and border with Mexico allow Texas to leverage its seaports, international bridges, railways, airports and interstate highways to help rank it first among all states in overall value of trade commodities and first in commodities exported out of the U.S. since 2002.
Texas resilience
Texas more than bounced back from the 2020 COVID dip when the state’s trade value fell to $634.6 billion. Texas’ trade value has spiked to a robust $1.1 trillion, an increase of 67.6 percent from 2020.
Export and Import Values, Texas, 2014-2024Export and Import Data
Export and Import Values, Texas, 2014-2024
Year
Exports
Imports
Total Trade
2014
$322.6
$374.5
$697.1
2015
$296.5
$335.3
$631.8
2016
$274.6
$317.6
$592.2
2017
$307.4
$349.4
$656.8
2018
$358.3
$378.9
$737.1
2019
$365.7
$373.1
$738.8
2020
$309.8
$324.8
$634.6
2021
$421.1
$406.7
$827.8
2022
$553.9
$500.7
$1,054.6
2023
$521.5
$503.7
$1,025.2
2024
$534.9
$529.0
$1,063.9
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online.
... and the blue ribbon goes to Port Laredo!
Port Laredo leads the U.S. in total trade with more than a third of a trillion dollars ($339.5 billion) of commodities passing through the South Texas port of entry.
New kid on the block
Port Ysleta is a relative newcomer, being named a port of entry in spring 2020.
Nationwide, it has quickly risen to No. 15 in imports and No. 20 in value of exported commodities and overall trade value in the U.S.
Photo courtesy of the U. S. Customs and Border Protection Agency.
Photo courtesy of the City of Laredo – Port Laredo.
Our neighbor to the south
In 2024, Texas’ trade through its international bridges with Mexico, the state’s largest trading partner, helped to propel Texas international trade to more than $547.9 billion in total value of commodities, more than 51.5 percent of the state’s trade value.
Flying high
The Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport represent 72.1 and 24.2 percent of Texas’ airport/intermodal trade, respectively.
Photo courtesy of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Photo courtesy of Port Houston.
And another No. 1!
Port Houston ranks first in the nation in exports with $129.9 billion in commodities flowing out of the port. For total trade value, Port Houston is the fifth-ranked port of entry in the U.S. with more than $223.5 billion in trade.
A REVIEW OF THE TEXAS ECONOMY