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Port of Entry: George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston-IAH) 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston-IAH) accounting for 20.1 percent of the airport trade, or about $14.1 billion.1
Economic Contribution
Based on the Comptroller’s estimate, trade through Houston-IAH in 2018 affected about 42,000 net jobs in Texas. Approximately $6.3 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) is related to trade through Houston-IAH (Exhibit 1).2
| Description | Value |
|---|---|
| Total direct trade value | $14.1 billion |
| Related gross domestic product4 | $6.3 billion |
| Total employment affected5 | 42,000 |
Sources: Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) model for Texas, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Houston-IAH Trade
Houston-IAH’s top two trading partners account for 37 percent of all trade traversing the port (Exhibit 2). Its top trading partner, Germany, represents 11 percent of the port’s total trade, while the second-, third- and fourth-largest (the Netherlands, China and the United Kingdom) account for 8.8, 8.7 and 8.4 percent, respectively.
| Year | Overall Trade (billions) | Trade with with Germany, the Netherlands, China and the United Kingdom (billions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Trade | Exports | Imports | Trade | % of Total | Exports | Imports | |
| 2018 | $14.1 | $8.5 | $5.6 | $5.2 | 36.9% | $2.6 | $2.6 |
| 2017 | $14.0 | $8.5 | $5.5 | $5.7 | 40.6% | $2.8 | $2.9 |
| 2016 | $14.4 | $8.8 | $5.6 | $5.7 | 39.3% | $2.9 | $2.8 |
| 2015 | $15.3 | $9.3 | $5.9 | $5.8 | 38.2% | $2.8 | $3.0 |
| 2014 | $18.8 | $10.1 | $8.7 | $6.1 | 32.5% | $2.8 | $3.3 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
| Description | Partners/Products |
|---|---|
| Top origins of imported goods: | Germany, China, the United Kingdom |
| Top destinations for exported goods: | the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia |
| Top products traded: | machinery, electronics |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
Shipping activity through accounted for $14.1 billion in trade in 2018, 96 percent more than in 2003 ($7.2 billion) (Exhibit 4). ranks 19th nationally for total cargo tonnage and ninth for total flights (all planes) (Exhibit 5).
Houston-IAH Port of Entry, All Trade (All Commodities), 2003 to 2018
| Year | Total Trade through Houston-IAH (in billions) | Percentage of Total Trade through airports |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 7.2 billion dollars | 22% |
| 2004 | 7.8 billion dollars | 19% |
| 2005 | 9.5 billion dollars | 20% |
| 2006 | 11.4 billion dollars | 20% |
| 2007 | 12.8 billion dollars | 22% |
| 2008 | 13.8 billion dollars | 23% |
| 2009 | 12.9 billion dollars | 25% |
| 2010 | 16.4 billion dollars | 27% |
| 2011 | 20.4 billion dollars | 30% |
| 2012 | 18.5 billion dollars | 27% |
| 2013 | 17.2 billion dollars | 25% |
| 2014 | 18.8 billion dollars | 25% |
| 2015 | 15.3 billion dollars | 21% |
| 2016 | 14.4 billion dollars | 21% |
| 2017 | 14.0 billion dollars | 20% |
| 2018 | 14.1 billion dollars | 20% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau: Economic Indicators Division, USA Trade Online
| Year | Total Cargo in Metric Tons | Aircraft Movements (landing and takeoff) | Passengers* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic (Metric Tons) | Percent International | |||
| 2018 | 528,555 | 47.5% | 466,738 | 43,807,539 |
| 2017 | 451,130 | 50.2% | 450,323 | 40,732,190 |
| 2016 | 431,982 | 48.9% | 470,780 | 41,692,372 |
*Arriving and departing passengers, as well as direct transit passengers, are each counted once.
Source: Houston Airport System
- 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.
- Houston Airports System – Statistics Dashboard