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Port of Entry: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport) Impact to the Texas Economy, 2018
Ports of entry within the state of Texas accounted for nearly $740 billion in international trade in 2018. Texas has 29 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 Texas port plays a distinctive role in the state’s transportation network and contributes to the state and local economies.
Of Texas’ total international trade, $70.3 billion, or 9.5 percent, traveled through the state’s airports, with the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport) accounting for 78.3 percent of the airport trade, or about $55 billion.1
Economic Contribution
Based on the Comptroller’s estimate, trade through the DFW Airport in 2018 affected about 164,000 net jobs in Texas. Approximately $24.7 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) is related to trade through DFW Airport (Exhibit 1).2
| Description | Value |
|---|---|
| Total direct trade value | $55 billion |
| Related gross domestic product4 | $24.7 billion |
| Total employment affected5 | 163,600 |
Sources: Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) model for Texas, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
DFW Airport Trade
DFW Airport’s top two trading partners account for 37 percent of all trade traversing the port (Exhibit 2). Its top trading partner, China, represents 23.8 percent of the port’s total trade, while the second-largest, South Korea, accounts for 13 percent. The next two largest trading partners (Vietnam and Japan) both account for less than 6 percent.
| Year | Overall Trade (billions) | Trade with China and South Korea (billions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trade | Exports | Imports | Trade | % of Total | Exports | Imports | |
| 2018 | $55.0 | $23.7 | $31.4 | $20.2 | 36.8% | $6.4 | $13.9 |
| 2017 | $55.4 | $23.3 | $32.1 | $22.1 | 39.9% | $6.3 | $15.8 |
| 2016 | $52.5 | $21.8 | $30.7 | $19.8 | 37.8% | $5.0 | $14.9 |
| 2015 | $54.4 | $20.9 | $33.6 | $24.3 | 44.7% | $5.3 | $19.1 |
| 2014 | $55.2 | $19.6 | $35.6 | $27.1 | 49.1% | $5.0 | $22.1 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
| Description | Partners/Products |
|---|---|
| Top origins of imported goods: | China, South Korea, Vietnam |
| Top destinations for exported goods: | South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan |
| Top products imported through this port: | electronics, machinery |
| Top products exported through this port: | electronics, machinery, aircraft parts |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
Shipping activity through DFW Airport accounted for $55 billion in trade in 2018, 118 percent more than in 2003 ($25.2 billion) (Exhibit 4). DFW Airport ranks 10th nationally for total cargo tonnage and fourth for total flights (all planes) (Exhibit 5).
DFW Airport Port of Entry, All Trade (All Commodities), 2003 to 2018
| Year | Total Trade through DFW Airport (in billions) | Percentage of Total Trade through airports |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 25.2 billion dollars | 75.2% |
| 2004 | 33.0 billion dollars | 79.7% |
| 2005 | 37.4 billion dollars | 78.5% |
| 2006 | 44.9 billion dollars | 77.9% |
| 2007 | 44.8 billion dollars | 76.5% |
| 2008 | 43.2 billion dollars | 73.4% |
| 2009 | 38.0 billion dollars | 73.1% |
| 2010 | 42.9 billion dollars | 71.1% |
| 2011 | 46.9 billion dollars | 68.4% |
| 2012 | 49.4 billion dollars | 71.4% |
| 2013 | 51.3 billion dollars | 73.4% |
| 2014 | 55.2 billion dollars | 73.3% |
| 2015 | 54.4 billion dollars | 76.6% |
| 2016 | 52.5 billion dollars | 77.2% |
| 2017 | 55.4 billion dollars | 78.5% |
| 2018 | 55.0 billion dollars | 78.3% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
| Year | Total Cargo in Metric Tons (international and domestic) | Aircraft Movements (landing and takeoff) | Passengers* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 832,913 | 667,213 | 69,112,607 |
| 2017 | 811,208 | 654,344 | 67,092,224 |
| 2016 | 752,073 | 672,748 | 65,598,618 |
*Arriving and departing passengers, as well as direct transit passengers, are each counted once.
Source: DFW Airport – Traffic Statistics
- U.S. Census Bureau: USA Trade Online – U.S. Import and Export Merchandise trade statistics.
- Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) model for Texas was used with total trade value attributed to this port as a percentage of Texas’ total trade value as an input. These data were used to generate a weighted estimate of net jobs and GDP associated with trade at this port.
- The estimated contributions offer a strong indicator of the economic importance of this port of entry to Texas; estimates as such are not precise quantifications of direct or indirect contributions to the Texas economy.
- “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.
- U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online.
- DFW Airport – Traffic Statistics.