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Texas Supply Chain
[Chemicals]
The United States is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world behind China, supplying the materials for consumer goods and intermediate products for virtually every industry. Texas is the nation’s top chemical producer and exporter.
Texas’ basic chemical manufacturing industry accounts for about one-third of the industry’s U.S. exports and GDP.
One in a series of reports the Comptroller has prepared on Texas supply chains; for more information please see below.
The basic ingredients originate in oil and gas fields and travel an immense worldwide supply chain that eventually yields plastics, packaging, fertilizers, pesticides, synthetic fibers, cleaners, lubricants, paint and a seemingly endless list of other materials.
Texas Chemical Manufacturing Supply Chain Resilience
The chemical industry is most vulnerable to severe weather events, cyberattacks, trade disputes, supply and demand volatility, and evolving global regulations. To mitigate supply chain unpredictability, industry leaders are examining ways to use advanced data analytics and other technology to improve agility and efficiency.
Texas Chemical Manufacturing Industry
Chemicals represented the third-largest export from Texas in 2020, with a value of around $40 billion, or 14.3 percent of the state’s total exports.
The industry fared better than most during the pandemic, with exports down only about 10 percent between 2019 and 2020.
The Gulf Coast specializes in “basic chemical manufacturing,” a subset of the chemical manufacturing sector, which produces basic building blocks such as ethane, ethylene, methanol and benzene. The state’s industry concentration of basic chemical production jobs is 2.66 times greater than that of the total United States, with high employment and high average wages. In the basic chemical industry, Texas contributes more than a third of the national GDP and about the same proportion of its exports.
Texas’ Chemical Manufacturing Industry Economic Data
All Texas Chemical Manufacturing, Imports and Exports, 2020
Sources: JobsEQ; U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online
Average Annual Wages
$113,372
Employment
83,534
Gross state product
$52.7 billion
Sources: JobsEQ; U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online
The top locations for Texas chemical manufacturing jobs are Harris County (29.7 percent) and Brazoria County (9.0 percent).
In 2020, the share of industry jobs in Brazoria County was more than 10 times the national average.
Top Texas Counties by Chemical Manufacturing Employment, 2020
| County | Number of Employees, Basic Chemical Manufacturing | Industry Concentration, Basic Chemical Manufacturing | Number of Employees, All Chemical Manufacturing | Industry Concentration, All Chemical Manufacturing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 12,129 | 5.13 | 24,832 | 1.82 |
| Brazoria | 6,780 | 55.72 | 7,481 | 10.64 |
| Dallas | 1,383 | 0.79 | 6,901 | 0.68 |
| Tarrant | 269 | 0.28 | 5,601 | 1.01 |
| Jefferson | 2,286 | 19.16 | 3,747 | 5.44 |
Source: JobsEQ
Notes: Data are for North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) 325 (Chemical Manufacturing) and a subset, 3251 (Basic Chemical Manufacturing).
This is one in a series of reports the Comptroller has prepared on Texas supply chains.
See more information on Supply Chains and the Texas economy.
Questions?
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the material on this page, please contact the Comptroller’s Data Analysis and Transparency Division.