BEA: Texas export trade up 34% in 2021

New numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis confirm the Lone Star State remains the lone star when it comes to international export trade among the states.

November 2021 export trade data, released in January by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), shows Texas’s export trade for the month soared 48% compared with November 2020, while year-to-date trade was up 34%. For the entire United States, both monthly and year-to-date export trade increased 23%.

The raw numbers for Texas are even more impressive. November 2021 international trade totaled $34.9 billion, up from $23.6 billion a year earlier, and year-to-date output reached $339.8 billion, compared with $253 billion for the same period in 2020.

The $339.8 billion tally exceeds the $307 billion sum for the next three states in terms of international trade volume for the first 11 months of 2021 — $161 billion for California; $78 billion for New York; and $68 billion for Louisiana.

“The latest international trade data from the BEA underscores the tremendous strength and resilience of the Texas economy,” said Robert Allen, President and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation (TxEDC). “The BEA numbers for all of 2021 should give Texas a 20-year streak as the top export-producing state in the country.”

“Texas’s dominance in international trade is critical to the state economy, with one-fifth of Texas jobs depending on international trade,” Allen added. “Given that Texas shows no signs of relinquishing its status as a star in international trade exports, the state is poised to generate many more trade-related jobs for years to come.”

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis