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Port of Entry: El PasoImpact 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, $408 billion, or 55.2 percent, traveled across the state’s border crossings with Mexico, with the El Paso port of entry accounting for 20.1 percent of land port trade, or about $81.9 billion.1 Each Texas land port is unique, facilitating the movement of people and goods between the neighboring countries through rail, commercial and personal vehicles and pedestrian traffic.
Economic Contribution
Based on the Comptroller’s estimate, trade through the El Paso port of entry in 2018 affected about 165,500 net jobs in Texas, and about $25 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) is related to trade through this port of entry (Exhibit 1).2
| Description | Value |
|---|---|
| Total direct trade value | $81.9 billion |
| Related gross domestic product4 | $25 billion |
| Total employment affected5 | 165,500 |
Sources: Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) model for Texas, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
El Paso Port of Entry Trade
El Paso’s several border crossings form one of 11 land ports along Texas’ 1,254-mile border with Mexico.
| Description | Partners/Products |
|---|---|
| Top trading partner using this port: | Mexico |
| Top products imported through this port: | electronics, machinery, vehicles |
| Top products exported through this port: | electronics, machinery |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
In 2018, the El Paso port of entry handled northbound border-crossing traffic of about 811,000 trucks, more than 12 million cars (with 22 million passengers) and more than 7 million pedestrians.
Shipping activity through this port accounted for $81.9 billion in trade in 2018, 102 percent more than in 2003 ($40.5 billion) (Exhibit 3).
El Paso Port of Entry, All Trade (All Commodities), 2003 to 2018
| Year | Total Trade through El Paso (in billions) | Percentage of Total Trade through land ports |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 40.5 billion dollars | 26.1% |
| 2004 | 44.7 billion dollars | 25.5% |
| 2005 | 45.1 billion dollars | 24.6% |
| 2006 | 48.8 billion dollars | 23.8% |
| 2007 | 51.1 billion dollars | 23.5% |
| 2008 | 49.4 billion dollars | 22.1% |
| 2009 | 43.4 billion dollars | 22.9% |
| 2010 | 57.1 billion dollars | 23.6% |
| 2011 | 61.3 billion dollars | 22.2% |
| 2012 | 66.8 billion dollars | 21.9% |
| 2013 | 68.1 billion dollars | 21.3% |
| 2014 | 68.9 billion dollars | 19.8% |
| 2015 | 73.0 billion dollars | 20.5% |
| 2016 | 75.5 billion dollars | 21.1% |
| 2017 | 76.5 billion dollars | 20.2% |
| 2018 | 81.9 billion dollars | 20.1% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
The El Paso port of entry’s top trading partner, Mexico, accounts for nearly all trade traversing the port (Exhibit 4). Mexico represents 94.5 percent of this port’s total trade, while the second largest trading partner, China, accounts for 4 percent.
| Year | Overall Trade (billions) | Trade with Mexico (billions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trade | Exports | Imports | Trade | % of Total | Exports | Imports | |
| 2018 | $81.9 | $32.3 | $49.6 | $77.4 | 94.5% | $32.3 | $45.1 |
| 2017 | $76.5 | $29.6 | $46.9 | $70.9 | 92.7% | $29.5 | $41.4 |
| 2016 | $75.5 | $31.2 | $44.2 | $71.1 | 94.2% | $31.0 | $40.1 |
| 2015 | $73.0 | $31.2 | $41.7 | $70.0 | 95.9% | $31.2 | $38.8 |
| 2014 | $68.9 | $31.7 | $37.3 | $67.5 | 97.9% | $31.6 | $35.9 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
- 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.