Global Houston 2018 by Greater Houston Partnership

E XPORTS TO X X

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

GLOBAL HOUSTON

Lorem ipsum

Total Top 10 Commodities

All Other Commodities

TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

xx xx MAY 2018

IMPORTS FROM X X

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

Lorem ipsum

Total Top 10 Commodities

All Other Commodities

TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

This analysis was prepared by the Research Division of the Greater Houston Partnership:

Publication underwritten by:

An electronic version of this report can be found at www.houston.org/economy May 2018

Cover photo courtesy of Visit Houston | Back cover photo courtesy of Port Houston

Patrick Jankowski, Roel Martinez, Josh Pherigo, Jenny Philip, Nadia Valliani, Melissa Verhoef, Yi Wang and Jonathan Yockey.

36 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 44 | 46 | 48 | 50 | 52 | 54 |

Italy India Venezuela Belgium Singapore Canada France Chile Russia Iraq

56 | Houston Commodity Trade 60 | Houston Global Trade Partners

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

HOUSTON: GLOBAL CIT Y H IGH LIGHTS I NTE R N ATI O N A L PO PU L ATI O N Houstonians:

largest city

6th

largest metro economy

nearly

1 4 in

are foreign-born

4th

in number of Hispanics

7 th

in number of Asians

Top 3 Metro in the nation for the number of consular offices

in number of African Americans

90+ countries

have official government representation here

G LO BA L B US I N E SS H U B

4th 20

5,000+

in number of Fortune 500 headquarters 2017 Fortune 500 firms

International Finance Center

2017 Fortune Global 500 firms

Houston companies doing business abroad

foreign banks from 10 nations

2017 Forbes Global 2000 firms

1,000

Houston firms report foreign ownership

H O USTO N TR A D E

$192.2 Billion Houston total trade 2017 imports

2017 exports

Billion

$83.0

$109.2

Houston-Galveston Customs District ranked as 7th busiest by dollar value 2

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

foreign governments maintain trade and commercial offices

active international chambers of commerce or trade associations

sister-city relationships promoting opportunities across the world

7 EUROPE 6 ASIA 2 AMERICAS 2 MIDDLE EAST 1 AFRICA

PO RT O F H O USTO N : B US I E ST PO RT I N TE X A S

th busiest in the world by tonnage

Largest

Gulf Coast container port

Economic Impact:

1st

in U.S. import & export tonnage

2nd

in total tonnage in the U.S.

MORE THAN

8,000 ships visit annually

more than

$260 billion annually

Approximately 100 steamship lines provide service between Houston and more than 1,000 global ports

H O USTO N A I R PO RT SYSTE M

I N T E R N AT I O N A L AIRPORTS

S PAC E P O R T

Ellington Airport Launch Site License approved by FAA in 2015 Became a commercial spaceport in 2015

George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby Airports

182

nonstop destinations

to 37 countries

2017 Passenger Volume

54.1 Million total passengers DOMESTIC

42.9 Million

INTERNATIONAL

11.2 Million

Scheduled and charter passenger and cargo carriers fly directly to approximately

114

Domestic destinations

International destinations

countries

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

INTRODUCTION Houston continues to diversify, shifting away from energy and closer to the global economy. Exports topped $100 billion last year. International migration set a record. Foreignowned firms continued to open factories and offices here. Overseas investors acquired billions of dollars in local real estate. The city welcomed three to four trade delegations every week. And a score of dignitaries, ambassadors and ministers from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America visited Houston to promote closer ties between the city and their homelands. This flurry of international activity helped offset persistent weakness in the oil patch. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded in the upper-$40s and low-$50s most of last year and only recently managed to hold above $60 per barrel. The U.S. rig count hit 900 in May of ’17 but took nearly a year to breach the 1,000 mark. The energy industry added 10,300 jobs since its December ’16 trough, but that’s far shy of the 86,400 lost during the downturn. Half the major exploration, production, equipment and service firms in Houston earned a profit in ’17, but half continued to report losses. Sectors of Houston’s economy tied to global trade and foreign investment performed much better. According to WISERTrade, the Houston/Galveston Customs District handled 160.8 million metric tons in exports last year, up 19.0 percent from the year before. Those exports were valued at $109.2 billion, up 19.2 percent the prior year. ’18 started off strong, with tonnage up 18.8 percent and value up 17.7 percent through the first three months of the year. Export tonnage has risen steadily over the past 20 years while export values are slowly recovering after the collapse in commodity prices. Forty-one foreign-owned firms opened or expanded operations in Houston, up from 25 in ’16. JSW Steel

Note: Countries that are shaded are among Houston’s top 20 trading partners.

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

(Mumbai) recently announced plans to invest $500 million in its Baytown steel mill. Lonza (Basel) has opened the world’s largest cell and gene therapy facility in Pearland. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Riyadh) is working to expand its U.S. headquarters in Houston. And the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Beijing), the largest bank in the world by total assets, recently established a branch office in the Uptown/Galleria area. Since January ’15, the start of the energy downturn, 108 foreign-owned firms have selected Houston for corporate expansions, relocations and startups. The data come from the Greater Houston Partnership’s New Business Announcements database. Real Capital Analytics reports that in ’17, foreign investors purchased $3.3 billion in local office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties. Since January ’15, they’ve purchased nearly $6.0 billion. The top three buyers are from Canada ($3.45 billion), Germany ($662 million) and China ($499 million). Last year, the Greater Houston Partnership welcomed 155 trade delegations from 46 nations. Over the past three years, the organization has met with nearly 400 trade delegations and foreign investors. More than 43,000 people moved to Houston from overseas last year and more than 115,000 over the past three years. In comparison, only 80,000 have moved here from other U.S. cities and metros over the same period, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The short-term global outlook remains bright, and that’s good news for Houston. The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts 3.0 percent global growth through the end of ’19, the World Bank 3.1 percent this year and 3.0 percent in ’19, IHS Markit 3.4 percent this year and next, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 3.6 percent or better through the end of ’19.

THE BIG SHIFT Five years ago, Houston shifted from an import-oriented to an exportoriented economy. In ’17, exports accounted for 56.8 percent of the value ($109.2 billion) and 60.4 percent of the volume (160.8 million metric tons) of all shipments via the Houston/Galveston Customs District. As recently as 10 years ago, imports accounted for 61.0 percent of the value ($113.0 billion) and 73.3 percent of the volume (186.6 million metric tons) handled by the district. The shift began in ’13 when imports of crude started to decline. With the fracking boom in full swing, the nation was able to supply more of its needs from domestic sources. Crude imports are now less half of what they were ten years ago. Toward the end of ’15, the U.S. Congress lifted a 40-year ban on crude exports and Houston began shipping oil overseas. Crude exports have more than doubled over the past two years. Exports of chemicals, plastics, iron and steel have grown over the past 10 years as well, aiding

Houston’s shift toward an exportoriented economy. The value of trade has slipped somewhat in recent years, but this is a reflection of weak commodity prices, not weakness in Houston’s global sectors. Tonnage via the district set a record in ’17, and barring a trade war or global economic collapse, should set a record again in ’18. With crude now trading near $70 per barrel, up nearly $20 over this time last year, the value of Houston’s foreign trade should surpass last year’s total. Trade via the Houston/Galveston Customs District will likely exceed $200 billion this year. Container traffic continues to grow as well. The Port of Houston handled 2,049,666 loaded containers (imports and exports) in the 12 months ending March ’18. That’s up 8.3 percent from March ’17 and 36.3 percent from March ’13. The surge reflects Houston’s growing role as a global transportation and logistics hub. To support that role, commercial

FO R E I G N T RA DE

Imports

Houston/Galveston Customs District

’07 Value of Foreign Trade

$113.0

61.0%

$72.3

39.0%

Exports

’17 Value of Foreign Trade

$83.0

$109.2

43.2%

56.8%

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

developers have built 52.3 million square feet of warehouse space in Houston over the past five years, with another 8.8 million square feet under construction. However, container traffic is one area where exports ($30.4 billion in ’17) have yet to overtake imports ($34.1 billion in ’17).

Typical Containerized Exports from Houston AIRCRAFT PARTS AUTO PARTS BATTERIES CHEMICALS COTTON ENGINES FOOD PREPS OIL FIELD EQUIPMENT PLASTICS PROPANE RUBBER SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS VALVES

Typical Containerized Imports to Houston AIR CONDITIONERS BEER BICYCLES COFFEE ENGINES FURNITURE MARBLE MEDICINES OIL FIELD EQUIPMENT PIPE SEAFOOD SPICES TELECOM EQUIPMENT TIRES TOYS WINE

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

TO N N A G E VI A THE HO U STONGALVESTO N CU STOM S DISTRICT

Imports

Exports

200

180

160

Value - Billions U.S. Dollars

Weight - Millions Metric Tons

Imports

TRADE VALUE VIA TH E HOUSTO NGALVESTON CUSTOMS DISTRI CT

140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

’07 ’08 ’09

’10

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

’16

140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

’17

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

’07 ’08 ’09

The region has trading relationships with more than 200 countries, according to WISERTrade. For 37 of those countries, combined trade (imports and exports) exceeds $1 billion annually. For another 57, trade exceeds $100 million per year. More than 5,000 Houston companies are engaged in global trade, according to 2017 Houston Facts. That’s triple the number from the mid-’80s. Houston companies operate more than 3,000 subsidiaries in 116 foreign countries, and more than 1,000 firms in Houston are the subsidiaries of foreign parent companies.

Airport System handles more than 11 million international passengers each year. Houston is connected via water to more than 200 ports and via air to 68 foreign markets. The IMF and World Bank have both expressed concerns about the global economy beyond next year. The Economist forecasts a mild U.S. downturn in ’20—unsettling news because U.S. and global economic health are closely linked. As the saying goes, “When the U.S. sneezes, Europe catches a cold.” The contagion would spread to Asia as well. Houston would suffer more than just a cough, sore throat and runny nose. Houston might come down with the flu. The Partnership is not forecasting an impending U.S. or global downturn, but since Houston’s fortunes are closely tied to events overseas, it’s prudent to consider global events that could derail Houston’s growth. Those risks are discussed on the following pages.

Over 8,000 ships call on the Port of Houston annually, and the Houston

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’10

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

HOW INTEGR ATED IS HOUSTON INTO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY? The Brookings Institution estimates that 17.3 percent of Houston’s economy was tied to exports in ’17, nearly double the 8.9 percent of ’03. Brookings also estimates that exports supported 330,340 jobs (direct and indirect) last year, up from 169,460 jobs in ’03. Factor in imports of steel, plastics and chemicals that go into locally manufactured products and the share of Houston’s economy tied to global trade is much higher.

Exports

E XPO RTS S H A R E OF H O U STO N G DP 17.3% 8.9%

’03

’17

Source: The Brookings Institution

H O U STO N J O B S S U P PO RT E D BY EX PORTS 330,340

169,460

’03 Source: The Brookings Institution

’17

RISK: GLOBAL TR ADE WAR BREAKS OUT Several events have heightened fears of a global trade war: the U.S. placing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, European threats to retaliate if not exempted from the tariffs, President Trump proposing tariffs on imports from China, China proposing tariffs on U.S. imports, the potential failure of NAFTA talks and President Trump's tweet that "trade wars are good and easy to win.” On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to “get tough on trade.” Now he’s following through on that promise. Among the president’s most strongly held beliefs is that the U.S. has suffered because of free trade. His statement that “trade wars are winnable” suggests he will give no quarter in negotiations. It also suggests the lengths to which he will go to reduce imports and boost exports.

Any tariffs on imports will likely face retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports. Should President Trump continue to deem other nations’ levies as a threat to national security and expand U.S. tariffs, his actions would invite reciprocal moves. From there, inflationary pressures kick in as the added costs to imports push up consumer prices, consumption slows and economic growth loses its momentum. Just the fear of a trade war would impact business confidence, creating a wait-andsee attitude that places investment decisions on hold. This would spark a sell-off in stocks and slow economic growth even further. The U.S. has tried something like this before. Congress passed the SmootHawley Tariff Act in 1930, imposing tariffs on more than 20,000 imported goods to protect U.S. industry. The

actions that Congress took to protect the U.S. made things worse for everyone. Other countries retaliated, imposing their own tariffs. World trade decreased nearly 70 percent and the global economy sank deeper into recession. A trade war today would produce an equally sharp decline in trade flows, disrupt global supply chains, curtail consumer spending, boost inflation, raise interest rates, reduce disposable income and slow economic growth. Houston’s economy is still struggling to recover from the oil price crash. At the very least, a global trade war would prolong Houston’s recovery. At the very worst, a global trade war could tip Houston back into recession.

RISK: A TR ADE WAR WITH CHINA The Trump Administration has threatened to impose tariffs on more than 1,300 items imported from China. As justification for his actions, the President has cited the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to the Asian nation, the enormous U.S. trade

deficit with the country, threats to national security, the forced transfer of technology as a pre-condition for joint ventures with Chinese firms and the outright theft, through cyberattacks or other means, of intellectual property.

The president has signaled his intent for some time. In April last year, he directed the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate whether imports of steel from China could be a threat to national security. In August, he asked the U.S. Trade

HO U STO N - C HINA TRADE

Value

Tonnage

$ Billions

14 12

10 8

6 4

Metric Tons (Millions)

2 0

0 ’98

’99

’00

’01

’02

’03

’04

’05

’06

’07

’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

Representative to investigate China’s general trade practices with a focus on China’s alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property. In January of this year, to test the waters, Trump placed tariffs on imported solar panels, most of which originate from China. Thus it should have been no surprise when in March, the President proposed tariffs on $150 billion in Chinese imports. China’s leadership responded in kind, proposing tariffs on 127 U.S. products valued at $50 billion. The U.S. exports subject to Chinese tariffs include agricultural products, chemicals, plastics, automobiles and automobile parts. Chinese imports subject to U.S. tariffs include items such as steel, aluminum, medical devices, aircraft parts and various consumer goods. As of this writing, U.S. tariffs are subject to hearings and public comment before implementation.

’01, China ranked fourteenth among Houston’s trading partners. Since ’15, it has ranked either first or second, often trading spots with Mexico.

Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods are subject to President Xi Jinping’s final authorization. Any action that impacts U.S.-China trade would be felt in Houston. China ranks as Houston’s second largest trading partner (behind Mexico), with more than $18.8 billion in goods moving between Houston and the Asian nation in ’17. That represents 9.8 percent of all foreign trade for the region. The vast majority of Houston exports to China are related to the energy industry: oil, fuels, chemicals, plastics and industrial machinery. The top goods imported from China into Houston include industrial machinery, electrical machinery, computers, iron and steel, and consumer goods such as toys and furniture.

In December ’17, Mayor Sylvester Turner led the largest Houston delegation in the city’s history on a trade mission to Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. Discussions there focused on the export of oil field equipment to China, ways in which the Texas Medical Center can help China improve its health care system, potential liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the nation and opportunities for Chinese firms to invest in Houston. The Partnership is also working with several Chinese companies looking to open factories in the region. All these deals might collapse if the trade dispute between the U.S. and China escalates.

Houston’s relationship with China has grown more important over time. In

HO U STO N T RADE WITH NAFTA PA RTN E RS

Imports

Exports

20 18 16 $ Billions

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 ’98

’99

’00

’01

’02

’03

’04

’05

’06

’07

’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

RISK: THE COLL APSE OF THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TR ADE AGREEMENT The United States, Canada and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) over two decades ago. The merits of the agreement drew considerable debate even then. Supporters predicted NAFTA would create thousands of jobs and increase living standards across the continent. Opponents,

most notably ’92 presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, argued that lower trade barriers would create “a giant sucking sound” as American jobs drained south.

to measure because other events have shaped the three countries’ economies as well:

NAFTA underpins about $1.2 trillion in annual trade among the three countries. Beyond that, NAFTA’s impact has proven more difficult

• The healthy U.S. expansion of the ’90s,

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

• Mexico’s currency crisis in the late ’90s and the related recession, economic

• The global financial crisis of ’08,

• Increased border controls after September 11, • The rapid growth of China, • Greatly expanded trade with other countries, including China and India, and • The rise of automation, technology, the Internet and e-commerce. During the ’16 presidential election, Donald Trump made his opposition to NAFTA a central tenet of his campaign. The issue resonated with voters in the Midwest, where declines in manufacturing have spurred antiNAFTA sentiments. In a September ’16 debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump called NAFTA “the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere” and said he would consider withdrawing the U.S. from the agreement. The president came close to abandoning NAFTA last year, but Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto prevailed on Trump to renegotiate rather than abandon the treaty. Among items Trump wants renegotiated are dispute settlement procedures related to trade and investment, rules of origin for goods manufactured outside the U.S. and then brought into the country, and barriers that interfere with digital transactions. He also wants to lower the trade deficit between the United States and Mexico. In ’17, Americans bought $71.0 billion more imports from Mexico than vice versa. The three parties recently completed the seventh round of formal negotiations and President Trump had hoped for a final deal before the end of May. He has again reminded

negotiators that he retains the right to withdraw the U.S. from NAFTA at any time. Electoral calendars, however, not presidential prerogative, may be the bigger threat to approval of a renegotiated NAFTA. On July 1, Mexico will elect a new president. Most polls indicate that Andrés Manuel López Obrador will win the election. Obrador, a populist, frowns on NAFTA and has said he may decline to ratify the treaty. He’s also stated that if he wins the presidency he will roll back the energy reforms enacted in December ’13 that opened his country’s energy sector to private investments. U.S. ratification of the treaty is about to bump against the U.S. election calendar as well. Under current Trade Promotion Authority, once negotiations are complete, the U.S. must wait least at least 90 days before officially signing the treaty. This waiting period is extended to 180 days if negotiators have made changes to how trade remedies work. And before Congress can vote, the U.S. International Trade Commission is given another 105 days to study NAFTA’s effects on the U.S. economy. That would delay passage until January when a new U.S. Congress takes office. If the Democrats regain control of the House, they may demand significant changes before approving a Trump-led bill, pushing passage deep into ’19. Further complicating ratification, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken a hard line on NAFTA negotiations and recently said it might be better for Canada to accept "no deal” rather than accede

to revised trade proposals from the Trump Administration. The stakes are high for Houston. Houston’s trade with Mexico and Canada totaled $23.3 billion last year, or 12.1 percent of total international trade. Mexico is Houston’s leading trading partner, Canada our 16th. Trade with Houston’s NAFTA partners, which is heavily weighted to crude, refined products, plastics and industrial machinery, has grown steadily over time. It spiked when oil prices topped $100 per barrel, before collapsing along with oil prices, but has rebounded since. Houston’s exports to its NAFTA partners actually exceeded its imports by $76 billion in ’17. The end of NAFTA would also create uncertainty for Houston firms currently doing business in Mexico and Canada, and vice versa. Thirty-seven Houston firms operate 132 subsidiary locations in Mexico, while 17 Mexican firms operate 20 subsidiaries in Houston area. Sixty-four Houston firms operate 705 subsidiary locations in Canada and 71 Canadian firms operate 114 subsidiaries here. If NAFTA collapses, consumers would quickly feel the pinch as the cost of fruits, vegetables, clothing, automobiles and various goods imported from Canada and Mexico would rise. The impact on business would soon follow as firms sourcing from Mexico see their input costs rise. And as costs rise, firms whose goods can substitute for those imports will recognize the opportunity to raise their prices and do so. These price hikes would reduce profits, raise costs and become a drag on Houston’s economy.

RISK: INTERNATIONAL MIGR ATION SLOWS TO A TRICKLE One in four Houstonians, nearly 1.6 million residents, were born outside the U.S. Another 600,000 children under 17 have at least one foreignborn parent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau doesn’t collect data on the adult children of

foreign-born parents (residents who may not be here if their parents hadn’t immigrated), but the Partnership estimates this population is at least 400,000 in Houston. As a group, Houston’s foreign-born population and their children equal about 2.6

million residents, or 38 percent of Houston’s total population. Without them, Houston would slip from fifth to fifteenth in the metro rankings. Put more bluntly, without our foreignborn population, Houston would be a second-tier metro.

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

CO M PO N E N TS OF M IG RATION TO H OUSTON

International Migration

Domestic Migration

100

Population (000s)

80 60 40 20 0 -20

’91 ’92 ’93 ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06* ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

A few other points to consider, all taken from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2016 American Community Survey: • Immigrants hold one-third of all jobs in the region. • Houston’s foreign-born population has a higher labor force participation rate than its nativeborn population (69.2 percent versus 65.4 percent). • The unemployment rate for the foreign-born in Houston is lower than that of its native-born (3.4 percent versus 4.6 percent). The flow of foreign migrants to Houston has remained steady over the past 25 years. The flow of domestic migrants, however, has been fickle. Domestic migration was negative last year. In layman’s terms, more people left Houston than moved here from elsewhere in the U.S. That’s happened four times since ’91. Population data from the ‘80s suggests it may have happened at least three times during that decade as well. International migration, however, set a record last year and over the past quarter century has never dipped below zero.1 International migration has been the one contributor to economic growth the region could always count on.

* distorted due to Hurricane Katrina evacuations

Houstonians seem to recognize this. In the 37th Annual Kinder Houston Area Survey, 63 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that “Immigrants to the U.S. generally contribute more to the American economy than they take.” Eighty-two percent of respondents favored “granting illegal immigrants a path to legal citizenship if they speak English and have no criminal record.” The role of immigrants in Houston’s future is at risk, however, because so much uncertainty surrounds U.S. policy toward asylum seekers, visa applicants, families, immigrants and foreign travelers: • President Trump wants to shift from “chain migration,” which gives preference to individuals who already have family in the U.S., to a merit-based system based on the skills of potential immigrants. • Congress has yet to decide what protections to offer under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides a temporary amnesty for those who were brought to the U.S. as children. • Questions have been raised in the U.S. House about whether the Immigrant Investor Program,

also known as EB-5 should be continued. The program allows foreign investors who invest and create jobs in an area plagued by high unemployment to gain permanent residence in the U.S. • The president wants an overhaul of the H1-B visa program, which allows companies to employ foreign nationals with skill sets deemed in short supply in the U.S. • The administration’s new rules for vetting refugee applicants have contributed to the precipitous drop in the number being admitted, especially from Middle Eastern countries. • The president has called for a stronger wall between the U.S. and Mexico to stop the flow of illegal immigrants from that country and Central and South America. Factors outside the U.S. are having their impact as well. As economies around the world, especially in Latin America, continue to grow, there’s less economic pressure to migrate. Lower birth rates in those countries also ease stress on the population and the need to seek employment opportunities in the U.S.

1 International migration includes expats returning home, military personnel redeployed stateside, foreigners arriving on work visas, international students enrolling in local universities, relief agencies placing refugees in Houston and immigrants (legal and undocumented) settling here.

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

Population growth is fundamental to economic growth. A growing population translates into an expanding labor force. And an

expanding labor force translates into a growing consumer market. Anything that potentially reduces the flow of migrants, domestic and

international, into Houston puts the region’s economic growth at risk. 2

RISK: BROADER CONFLICT AMONG WORLD’S CURRENT TROUBLED SPOTS China continues to assert its sovereignty over vast areas of the South China Sea. Russia and the U.S. have become entangled in supporting opposing sides in the Syrian Civil War. North Korea and the U.S. continue to rattle their sabers on the Korean

Peninsula. Saudi Arabia and Iran are engaged in a proxy war in Yemen. Tensions remain high between Ukraine and Russia. Economic conditions in Venezuela continue to deteriorate. The Taliban are making inroads again in Afghanistan. Wider

conflicts in many of these areas would disrupt global supply chains, cut off oil supplies to the west and possibly draw the U.S. into these conflicts. And any of these outcomes would result in slower global growth if not an outright downturn.

RISK: DEMAND FOR OIL PEAKS SOONER THAN ANTICIPATED Thirty years ago, analysts fretted over the pending arrival of peak oil, the point when crude production crests and a long, irreversible decline begins. Peak oil was a doomsday scenario, the day the earth starts running out of oil and the era of perpetual shortages begins. The theory was first postulated in the late ’50s when oil traded around $3 per barrel. The peak was initially forecasted to occur around the turn of the millennium. As technology advanced, the industry developed a better understanding of the earth’s geology and higher prices spurred companies to look for crude in more challenging environments. The date for peak oil has been pushed back, in some scenarios as late as the last half of this century. A new concern now dominates the long-term outlook for energy. Peak demand, the point at which oil consumption plateaus because the world has enough cleaner, cheaper options to energy produced from crude, is now in the picture. McKinsey & Co. believes the peak for transportation fuels could occur as early as ’23, with demand from the petrochemical industry peaking much later. Equinor (formerly Statoil) places the peak in the ’30s, BP in the ’40s. Legislative actions to combat climate

change could pull forward the date for “peak demand.” Norway plans to ban all gasoline and diesel vehicles by ’20, India by ’30, and France and the United Kingdom by ’40. China, the world's largest car market, is working on a plan to ban the production and sale of vehicles powered only by fossil fuels but hasn’t set a deadline yet. And Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and South Korea have set official targets for the volume of electric vehicle sales. The oil and gas industry faces other pressures as well. Several California cities, including San

Francisco and Oakland, have sued ExxonMobil and a dozen other energy companies, claiming that the companies concealed the costs of climate change and that the rise in sea levels will erode their property values and hence tax revenues. Nearly 200 pension plans, university endowments and private investment funds have divested their portfolios of all fossil-fuel-related holdings— among them, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a charity built on the wealth that flowed from Standard Oil, once the world’s largest oil company. Weaning

the

world

from

crude

GLOBAL OIL DE MAN D Million Barrels Per Day

95.0

96.2

97.8

99.0

100.5

93.1

’14

’15

Source: International Energy Agency

’16

’17

Q2/18

Q4/18* * Projected

The Partnership is on record as supporting broad-based comprehensive sensible immigration reform that secures our borders, creates an efficient temporary worker visa program to fill workforce gaps, establishes a fast reliable employment verification system, recognizes large scale deportation is not a viable economic or humanitarian option, and supports increased non-immigrant and immigrant visas for highly skilled individuals and graduates of U.S. universities in tech fields.

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

won’t be easy. Global consumption has grown from 93.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in ’14 to 99.0 million bpd in Q2/18. It’s projected to top 100 million bpd day by the end of this year. The transportation sector accounts for only 20 percent of global energy demand, according to BP, so converting the global car and truck fleet from diesel and gasoline, even if that were possible, would

not eliminate the need for fossil fuels entirely. BP, Exxon, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) in their long-term energy outlooks point out that crude demand for the industrial sector, especially chemicals and plastics, will continue to grow.

different ways. Royal Dutch Shell and Norway’s Equinor are placing bigger bets on natural gas and renewables, including wind and solar. ExxonMobil and Chevron, however, believe peak demand isn’t yet in sight. But when peak demand does occur, Houston will need to find a new growth engine, one that doesn’t run on oil or gas.

The energy industry has responded to the challenge of peak demand in

RISK: U.S. STOCK MARKET COLL APSES The U.S. stock market has enjoyed one of the longest bull runs in history. From its trough in March ’09 to its February ’18 peak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19,162 points for an annualized return of 14.9 percent. But the first quarter hasn’t been good for investors. The Dow has closed lower on 25 of the 58 trading days in Q1/18. As of this writing, the Dow is down 513 points for the year. Concerns over a possible trade war with China, a federal budget deficit that could top $1 trillion in fiscal ’19, and fears that the market is long overdue for

a correction have contributed to the turmoil. Perhaps analysts’ biggest worry is that the Fed will raise interest rates too quickly, and that’s why share prices have been so volatile. Substantial downturns in the stock market are often seen as harbingers of recession. A prolonged decline reduces household assets leading to reduced consumer spending. Companies find it more difficult to raise capital in a down market, postponing investment and hiring decisions. Banks are more cautious issuing loans and investors wait on the sidelines for market conditions

to improve. Growth stagnates, then declines and employment follows suit. History shows that what happens on Wall Street doesn’t stay on Wall Street. The global recession of ’00– ’02 began with the bursting of the technology bubble. The ’08–’09 recession started with the subprime mortgage crisis. Any collapse in U.S. financial markets would soon spread to global markets and Houston’s economy would be pinched from both sides.

D OW J O N ES INDU STRIAL AVERAGE - Monthly, Not Seasonally Adjusted 30,000

25,000

Index

20,000

15,000

10,000

May ’08 Aug ’08 Nov ’08 Feb ’09 May ’09 Aug ’09 Nov ’09 Feb ’10 May ’10 Aug ’10 Nov ’10 Feb ’11 May ’11 Aug ’11 Nov ’11 Feb ’12 May ’12 Aug ’12 Nov ’12 Feb ’13 May ’13 Aug ’13 Nov ’13 Feb ’14 May ’14 Aug ’14 Nov ’14 Feb ’15 May ’15 Aug ’15 Nov ’15 Feb ’16 May ’16 Aug ’16 Nov ’16 Feb ’17 May ’17 Aug ’17 Nov ’17 Feb ’18 May ’18 Aug ’18 Nov ’18

5,000

Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

RISK: NOT ALL ARE TO THE DOWNSIDE Economists often refer to the “upside risks” to their forecasts. In layman’s terms, those are events that might generate better results than expected. In the current context, upside risks would be global events that could spur growth for Houston. Three immediately come to mind. Another 1.2 billion people are expected to join the global middle class over the next 15 years. As incomes rise, families seek to improve their standards of living, and they tend to do this by acquiring

CONCLUSION As noted earlier, Houston’s economy continues to diversify, shifting away from energy and closer to the global economy. That shift creates risks, but also offers rewards. So far, rewards have outweighed the risks. According to Brookings, the share of Houston’s GDP and the number of jobs tied to exports have nearly doubled since ’03. No other major metro has experienced comparable growth. And as long as the global economy continues to expand, offering trade opportunities for local firms and investment opportunities for foreign companies, the economy will continue to expand and Houstonians will continue to prosper.

vehicles, appliances, and household furnishings, all of which contain plastics, chemicals or consume energy. U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached 1.94 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) in ’17, up from 0.5 Bcfd in ’16. By the mid-’20s, the U.S. is projected to overtake Qatar as the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas. Several LNG terminals are already in development or under construction on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Commodity exporting countries are benefitting from strong global growth. Many are now growing faster than the advanced economies of North America, Europe and Asia. Wells Fargo expects growth in the world’s developing economies to average 4.6 percent in ’19 versus 3.5 percent for the advanced economies. This stronger growth provides new export opportunities for Houston firms that serve the global market.

I M P O R TA N C E O F E X P O R T S Top 10 U.S. Metros, Ranked by Exports Share of ’17 vs ’03 Gross Domestic Product Exports Share of GDP % Rank

Metro

Total Export Jobs*

’17

’03

’17

’03

Houston

17.3

8.9

330,344

169,462

Dallas

11.9

8.8

336,702

196,985

Boston

10.2

9.3

319,522

222,596

Miami

9.8

6.3

280,318

165,897

Chicago

9.8

7.3

426,514

303,566

Los Angeles

9.6

8.3

701,034

499,572

New York

8.3

6.0

1,036,033

635,140

Philadelphia

8.1

6.9

215,281

160,693

Atlanta

8.0

5.9

209,152

131,074

Washington

5.9

4.0

238,343

135,253

* Direct and Indirect Source: The Brookings Institution

SOURCES Data cited in this report comes from the following sources: BP, Baker Hughes, Inc., Bloomberg, The Brookings Institution, CBRE, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Exxon Mobil, Greater Houston Partnership New Business Announcements database, Houston Airport System, Houston Business Journal, Houston Chronicle, IHS Markit, International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Manufacturers News, Office of the Governor of Texas, Port Houston, Real Capital Analytics, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Texas Workforce Commission, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Uniworld, WISERTrade, The Wall Street Journal and the World Bank. Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

H O U S TO N T R A D E BY R EG I O N TOTAL GLOBAL TRADE - HOUSTON 2017

Imports to Houston Global 2017 Trade

($ millions)

Exports from Houston

% of total

($ millions)

% of total

82,950.2

100.0

109,244.2

100.0

AMERICAS

20,585.0

24.8

46,883.8

42.9

EUROPE

27,700.4

33.4

25,407.1

23.3

ASIA

24,058.3

29.0

25,192.0

23.1

MIDDLE EAST

8,305.5

10.0

6,748.1

6.2

AFRICA

2,301.0

2.8

5,013.2

4.6

GLOBAL Total

AMERICAS - HOUSTON TRADE 2017

Region Rank

Sub-Region Houston Trade Partner

Imports to Houston

Exports from Houston

($ millions)

% of total

($ millions)

% of total

2017

AMERICAS Total

20,585.0

24.8

46,883.8

42.9

South America

10,836.5

52.6

23,048.9

49.2

North America

7,857.7

38.2

15,487.7

33.0

Central America

1,237.0

6.0

5,242.5

11.2

Caribbean

653.8

3.2

3,104.6

6.6

AFRICA - HOUSTON TRADE 2017

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 14

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

Region Rank

Sub-Region Houston Trade Partner

($ millions)

% of total

($ millions)

% of total

2017

AFRICA Total

2,301.0

2.8

5,013.2

4.6

Western Africa

848.5

36.9

2,043.4

40.8

Northern Africa

362.8

15.8

1,636.4

32.6

Southern Africa

841.6

36.6

945.0

18.8

Eastern Africa

87.4

3.8

342.7

6.8

Central Africa

160.7

7.0

45.7

0.9

Imports to Houston

Exports from Houston

EUROPE - HOUSTON TRADE 2017

Region Rank

Sub-Region Houston Trade Partner

2017

EUROPE Total

Imports to Houston ($ millions)

Exports from Houston

% of total

($ millions)

% of total

27,700.4

33.4

25,407.1

23.3

Western Europe

7,045.0

25.4

15,674.5

61.7

Central Europe

9,894.1

35.7

3,458.8

13.6

Southern Europe

3,608.1

13.0

1,534.0

6.0

Eastern Europe

2,705.4

9.8

905.2

3.6

Southwestern Europe

1,720.8

6.2

1,457.3

5.7

Southeastern Europe

1,308.1

4.7

1,472.2

5.8

Northern Europe

1,418.9

5.1

905.0

3.6

ASIA - HOUSTON TRADE 2017

Region Rank

Sub-Region Houston Trade Partner

2017

Imports to Houston

Exports from Houston

($ millions)

% of total

($ millions)

% of total

ASIA Total

24,058.3

29.0

25,192.0

23.1

Eastern Asia

17,674.9

73.5

16,681.9

66.2

Southeastern Asia

3,015.8

12.5

4,532.6

18.0

Southern Asia

2,815.3

11.7

2,634.8

10.5

Oceania

320.2

1.3

1,042.9

4.1

Southwestern Asia

164.0

0.7

153.0

0.6

Central Asia

68.1

0.3

146.9

0.6

MIDDLE EAST - HOUSTON TRADE 2017

Region Rank

Sub-Region Houston Trade Partner

Middle East

Imports to Houston

Exports from Houston

($ millions)

% of total

($ millions)

% of total

8,305.5

100.0

6,748.1

100

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

2 0 17 T R A D E PA R T N E R S

MEXICO HOUSTON’S # 1 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the fifth busiest gateway for U.S.-Mexico trade (by value), and Mexico is Houston’s largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Mexico averaged $23.3 billion annually and was valued at $20.1 billion in ’17. More than 638,500 people living in the Houston metro were born in Mexico.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Thirty-seven Houston firms operate 132 subsidiary locations

• Houston is also the home of the Association for the

• Seventeen Mexican firms operate 20 subsidiaries in the

• Seven airlines, including Southwest Airlines and United

in Mexico, including American Bureau of Shipping, National Oilwell Varco, Schlumberger, Tetra Technologies and Victory Packaging. Houston area, including Bar-S Foods–a Sigma Company, CEMEX USA, Mrs. Baird's Bakeries, PEMEX Procurement International and Tex-Tube.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Mexico are facilitated

in Houston through the Consulate General of Mexico, the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, ProMexico, the Mexico Tourism Board and the Trade Commission of Mexico – Bancomext.

Advancement of Mexican Americans, an organization that inspires and empowers at-risk Latinos to pursue their potential and achieve success.

Airlines, offer a total of 64 daily nonstop flights between Houston and 17 cities in Mexico.

• Of Houston’s 20 foreign-owned banks, one is from Mexico:

BBVA Bancomer, a fully owned subsidiary of the Spanish BBVA Group.

• Tampico, Mexico was designated as one of Houston’s 18 international sister cities in ’03.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 17th busiest gateway for U.S.-Mexico air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Mexico totaled 473.7 metric tons in ’17, a 7.2 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $97.5 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; electrical machinery, equipment, and parts; and miscellaneous industrial components, equipment, and parts, accounting for 49.9 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Mexico trade has fluctuated between $14.7 billion and $31.4 billion over the last 10 years. After reaching its peak in ’11, the value of trade gradually declined, primarily due to a decline in the market price of oil. Especially in ’15 and ’16, the import of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products from Mexico to Houston

decreased significantly. Most recently, however, trade between Houston and Mexico increased 36.4 percent from $14.7 billion in ’16 to $20.1 billion in ’17, largely due to an increase in the import value of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND M E XICO

Imports

Exports

35 30 $ Billions

25 20 15 10 5 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 16

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO ME XICO

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

6,190.8

9,151.6

71.7

47.8

Organic Chemicals

2,388.9

2,939.5

23.0

Industrial Equipment and Computers

132.0

158.4

1.2

20.0

Cereals

151.2

129.3

1.0

-14.5

Iron and Steel

18.7

107.5

0.8

476.1

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

62.7

83.4

0.7

32.9

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

59.4

56.1

0.4

-5.5

Animal or Vegetable Fats, Oils, Waxes

28.5

31.1

0.2

9.1

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

17.0

24.8

0.2

45.8

Plastics and Plastic Products

29.3

20.4

0.2

-30.5

9,078.6

12,702.1

99.6

39.9

65.3

56.2

0.4

-14.0

9,143.9

12,758.3

100.0

39.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM MEXICO via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

4,738.7

6,182.5

84.5

30.5

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Articles of Iron or Steel

332.7

519.5

7.1

56.1

Organic Chemicals

105.0

128.9

1.8

22.7

Motor Vehicles and Parts

0.7

109.9

1.5

Iron and Steel

42.8

80.0

1.1

86.8

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

107.1

78.7

1.1

-26.5

Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar

47.9

55.7

0.8

16.2

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

36.3

54.5

0.7

50.3

Coffee, Tea, Spices

20.5

25.6

0.3

24.6

Non-Knitted Apparel and Accessories

37.7

25.3

0.3

-32.9

5,469.4

7,260.4

99.3

32.7

103.6

53.6

0.7

-48.3

5,573.0

7,314.0

100.0

39.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

CHINA HOUSTON’S #2 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the 10th busiest gateway for U.S.-China trade (by value), and China is Houston’s second largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and China averaged $13.8 billion annually and was valued at $18.8 billion in ’17. Nearly 63,000 people living in the Houston metro were born in China.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Forty-four Houston firms operate 114 subsidiary locations in China, including BMC Software, Dresser-Rand, Maurice Pincoffs, NetIQ and Universal Weather & Aviation.

• Sixteen Chinese firms operate 18 subsidiaries in the Houston

the Asian Chamber of Commerce and the Houston Texas Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

• Air China offers approximately five nonstop passenger flights per week from Houston to Beijing, China.

area, including COSCO Shipping, OOGC America, Sinochem, TPCO Enterprise and TSC Manufacturing and Supply.

• Of Houston’s 20 foreign-owned banks, one is from China:

• Trade and other relationships with China are facilitated in

• Shenzhen, China was designated as one of Houston’s 18

Houston through the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China, the China General Chamber of Commerce,

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). international sister cities in 1986.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 12th busiest gateway for U.S.-China air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and China totaled 20,461.2

metric tons in ’17, a 21.9 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $1.0 billion in ’17.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial equipment and computers; electrical machinery, equipment, and parts; and articles of iron or steel, accounting for 61.7 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-China trade has fluctuated between $9.1 billion to $18.8 billion over the last 10 years. From ’10 onwards, trade experienced strong and sustained growth, more than doubling from $9.1 billion in ’10 to $18.4 billion in ’15. In ’16, the value of many traded goods fell, especially imported industrial machinery and computers and

exported grain sorghum, leading trade between Houston and China to drop 20.1 percent to $14.7 billion. Most recently, however, trade increased 27.5 percent to $18.8 billion in ’17. This increase is largely due to an increase in the export value of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND C H IN A

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

15 10 5 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 18

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO CHINA

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

1,247.5

3,542.6

45.9

184.0

Organic Chemicals

1,091.9

1,158.6

15.0

6.1

Plastics and Plastic Products

568.2

837.3

10.8

47.4

Cereals

870.9

767.2

9.9

-11.9

Industrial Equipment and Computers

553.0

348.9

4.5

-36.9

Articles of Iron or Steel

89.6

122.7

1.6

36.9

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

158.2

113.2

1.5

-28.4

Oil Grain, Seed, Fruit, Plant Seeds

339.7

112.8

1.5

-66.8

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

81.3

107.5

1.4

32.2

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

67.5

90.8

1.2

34.5

5,067.8

7,201.5

93.2

42.1

537.7

523.5

6.8

-2.6

5,605.5

7,725.0

100.0

37.8

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM CHINA

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Industrial Equipment and Computers

1,829.8

2,257.7

20.5

23.4

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

1,499.4

1,887.1

17.1

25.9

Articles of Iron or Steel

812.7

1,019.6

9.2

25.5

Furniture, Bedding, Lamps

867.1

1,015.3

9.2

17.1

Toys, Games, and Sports Equipment

755.1

832.3

7.5

10.2

Plastics and Plastic Products

434.2

602.4

5.5

38.8

Organic Chemicals

366.2

473.7

4.3

29.4

Wood and Wood Products

225.4

242.5

2.2

7.6

Linens, Needlecraft Sets, Worn Clothing

185.6

209.9

1.9

13.1

Motor Vehicles and Parts

182.6

187.9

1.7

2.9

Total Top 10 Commodities

7,158.0

8,728.4

79.1

21.9

All Other Commodities

1,956.1

2,308.7

20.9

18.0

TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

9,114.1

11,037.1

100.0

21.1

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

BRAZIL HOUSTON’S #3 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the second busiest gateway for U.S.-Brazil trade (by value), and Brazil is Houston’s third largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Brazil averaged $12.3 billion annually and was valued at $12.6 billion in ’17. More than 7,200 people living in the Houston metro were born in Brazil.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Forty-three Houston firms operate 101 subsidiary locations in Brazil, including Exterran Holdings, Harris CapRock Communications, Intermoor, McDermott International and National Oilwell Varco.

• Ten Brazilian firms operate 15 subsidiaries in the Houston area, including Braskem, Oxiteno, Petrobras, Tramontina and U.S. Zinc.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Brazil are facilitated in

Houston through the Consulate General of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian Arts Foundation Houston, which is dedicated to providing cultural education and building community through the preservation and sharing of Brazilian culture.

• United Airlines offers daily nonstop passenger flights from Houston to two Brazilian cities: Rio De Janeiro and São Paulo.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the sixth busiest gateway for U.S.-Brazil air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Brazil totaled 4,982.5

metric tons in ’17, a 24.9 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $500.0 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; articles of iron or steel; and electrical machinery, equipment, and parts, accounting for 54.1 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Brazil trade over the past decade has ranged from a low of $8.4 billion in ’09 to a peak of $15.7 billion in ’14. Trade between Houston and Brazil increased 23.6 percent from $10.2 billion in ’16 to $12.6 billion in ’17, driven by an increase in both the export and

import value of trade in mineral fuels, oils, and refined products, as well as by the growth in the import value of ores, slag, and ash and the export value of beverages, spirits, and vinegar.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND BRAZIL

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 20

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO BR A ZIL

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

3,017.6

4,627.4

54.6

53.3

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Plastics and Plastic Products

649.3

695.4

8.2

7.1

Organic Chemicals

600.1

656.0

7.7

9.3

Industrial Equipment and Computers

629.1

518.6

6.1

-17.6

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

217.6

389.1

4.6

78.8

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

229.4

330.0

3.9

43.9

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

335.5

222.3

2.6

-33.8

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

194.8

176.0

2.1

-9.6

Rubber and Rubber Products

106.6

128.6

1.5

20.7

Motor Vehicles and Parts

36.1

114.2

1.3

216.8

6,015.9

7,857.8

92.8

30.6

821.1

611.9

7.2

-25.5

6,837.0

8,469.7

100.0

23.9

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM BRAZIL via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

894.0

971.7

23.3

8.7

Organic Chemicals

386.3

544.5

13.1

41.0

Industrial Equipment and Computers

362.1

432.7

10.4

19.5

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

362.7

409.9

9.8

13.0

Articles of Iron or Steel

41.0

216.9

5.2

428.6

Ores, Slag, and Ash

28.3

214.4

5.1

658.9

Wood and Wood Products

165.9

211.0

5.1

27.2

Motor Vehicles and Parts

132.4

175.5

4.2

32.6

Products of Stone, Plaster, Cement, Asbestos, Mica

134.6

138.3

3.3

2.8

Iron and Steel

88.2

121.2

2.9

37.5

2,595.5

3,436.1

82.5

32.4

786.7

729.4

17.5

-7.3

3,382.2

4,165.5

100.0

23.2

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

GERMANY HOUSTON’S #4 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the eighth busiest gateway for U.S.-Germany trade (by value), and Germany is Houston’s fourth largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Germany averaged $8.5 billion annually and was valued at $9.6 billion in ’17. More than 6,500 people living in the Houston metro were born in Germany.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twenty Houston firms operate 37 subsidiary locations in Germany, including AMOT, BMC Software, Furmanite, MRC Global and Situs.

the Southern United States and the Texas German Society, a group that seeks to preserve and encourage the German heritage, culture and language of German-Texans.

• Seventy-nine German firms operate 131 subsidiaries in the

• Two airlines, Lufthansa and United Airlines, offer daily nonstop

• Trade and cultural relationships with Germany are facilitated in

• Leipzig, Germany was designated as one of Houston’s 18

Houston area, including BASF, DHL, Dräger, Linde Engineering and Siemens.

Houston through the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German-American Chamber of Commerce of

passenger flights from Houston to Germany. Destinations include Frankfurt and Munich. international sister cities in 1992.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 10th busiest gateway for U.S.-Germany air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Germany totaled

16,873.8 metric tons in ’17, a 24.5 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $1.8 billion.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; electrical machinery, equipment, and parts; and optic, photographic, measuring, medical instruments, accounting for 50.2 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Germany trade has grown substantially over the past decade, peaking in ’15 at $10 billion. Trade between Houston and Germany increased 3.8 percent from $9.3 billion in ’16 to $9.6 billion in ’17, largely due to an increase in the import value of trade

in articles of iron and steel and the export value of pharmaceutical products. Imports composed 74.8 percent of total trade in ’17 and have averaged 73.2 percent of annual trade over the past decade.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND G ERMAN Y

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

8 6 4 2 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 22

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO GERMANY via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Pharmaceutical Products

612.1

672.1

27.7

9.8

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

296.4

302.2

12.4

1.9

Industrial Equipment and Computers

272.1

266.2

11.0

-2.2

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

204.3

253.1

10.4

23.9

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

124.4

156.4

6.4

25.7

Plastics and Plastic Products

81.2

102.7

4.2

26.4

Organic Chemicals

164.9

96.8

4.0

-41.3

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

74.4

74.8

3.1

0.5

Motor Vehicles and Parts

80.2

73.1

3.0

-8.8

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

8.4

53.5

2.2

535.0

1,918.5

2,050.8

84.4

6.9

332.6

378.0

15.6

13.6

2,251.1

2,428.8

100.0

7.9

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM GERMANY via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Motor Vehicles and Parts

2,889.1

2,654.2

36.8

-8.1

Industrial Equipment and Computers

1,790.1

1,768.8

24.5

-1.2

Articles of Iron or Steel

275.5

355.1

4.9

28.9

Organic Chemicals

282.5

321.7

4.5

13.9

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

245.5

298.6

4.1

21.7

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

214.0

245.0

3.4

14.5

Plastics and Plastic Products

171.3

199.4

2.8

16.4

Iron and Steel

99.2

152.3

2.1

53.5

Precious Stones, Metals, Coins, Pearls

117.9

141.8

2.0

20.3

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

126.6

130.6

1.8

3.1

6,211.6

6,267.5

86.8

0.9

835.2

952.6

13.2

14.1

7,046.8

7,220.2

100.0

2.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

THE NETHERLANDS HOUSTON’S #5 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the busiest gateway for U.S.-Netherlands trade (by value), and the Netherlands is Houston’s fifth largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and the Netherlands averaged $8.4 billion annually and was valued at $8.6 billion in ’17. More than 1,800 people living in the Houston metro were born in the Netherlands.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twenty-seven Houston firms operate 46 subsidiary locations in the Netherlands, including BMC Software, Halliburton, MRC Global, NetIQ and Team Industrial Services.

• Thirty-nine Dutch firms operate 91 subsidiaries in the Houston area, including AkzoNobel, Bayards Aluminum Constructions, Fugro, LyondellBasell and Royal Dutch Shell.

• Trade and cultural relationships with the Netherlands are

• the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Business

Support Office and the Holland Club Houston, an organization that seeks to promote fellowship among its members and to further interest in the Netherlands and Dutch customs and traditions.

• Two airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and United Airlines, offer daily nonstop passenger flights from Houston to Amsterdam.

facilitated in Houston through the Consulate General of

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston

ranks as the eighth busiest U.S.-Netherlands air cargo trade (by weight).

gateway

for

• Air cargo trade between Houston and the Netherlands totaled 7,461.9 metric tons in ’17, a 12.7 percent decline over ’16, and was valued at $1.5 billion.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial equipment and computers; electrical machinery, equipment, and parts; and articles of iron and steel, accounting for 57.8 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Netherlands trade in the past decade has ranged from a low of $5.6 billion in ’09 to a high of $10.3 billion in ’11. Over the past year, trade between Houston and the Netherlands increased 11.9 percent from $7.7 billion in ’16 to $8.6 billion in ’17. Trade gains are primarily due to an increase in the value of mineral fuels, oil,

and refined products, and to a lesser extent to increases in the export value of motor vehicles and parts and the import value of organic chemicals. Exports represented 80.3 percent of the total trade in ’17 and on average composed 80.1 percent of annual total trade over the past decade.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND THE N E TH E RL AN D S

Imports

Exports

12 10

$ Billions

8 6 4 2 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 24

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO THE NETHERL ANDS via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

1,874.0

2,371.9

33.9

26.6

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

1,144.0

1,157.7

16.6

1.2

Motor Vehicles and Parts

622.0

786.3

11.3

26.4

Organic Chemicals

764.3

733.8

10.5

-4.0

Industrial Equipment and Computers

528.6

432.6

6.2

-18.2

Ores, Slag, and Ash

126.9

165.9

2.4

30.8

Plastics and Plastic Products

182.4

145.2

2.1

-20.4

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

183.8

142.2

2.0

22.6

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

155.4

135.6

1.9

-12.7

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

116.0

129.9

1.9

12.0

5,697.3

3 6,201.2

88.7

8.8

776.5

787.3

11.3

1.4

6,473.9

6,988.5

100.0

7.9

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM THE NETHERLANDS via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

128.3

373.0

23.1

190.8

Organic Chemicals

175.8

285.2

17.7

62.3

Industrial Equipment and Computers

241.0

274.7

17.0

14.0

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

87.8

144.8

9.0

64.9

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

98.6

120.7

7.5

22.4

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

48.0

64.8

4.0

34.9

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

67.9

61.2

3.8

-9.9

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

41.0

43.6

2.7

6.4

Motor Vehicles and Parts

21.0

42.8

2.7

104.1

Plastics and Plastic Products

31.4

36.8

2.3

17.1

Total Top 10 Commodities

940.8

1,447.7

89.7

53.9

All Other Commodities

269.2

165.4

10.3

-38.6

1,210.1

1,613.2

100.0

33.3

TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

S O U T H KO R E A HOUSTON’S #6 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the eighth busiest gateway for U.S.-South Korea trade (by value), and South Korea is Houston’s sixth largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and South Korea averaged $5.8 billion annually and was valued at $6.8 billion in ’17. More than 11,000 people living in the Houston metro were born in South Korea.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Eight Houston firms operate 28 subsidiary locations in South Korea, including BMC Software, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Foster Wheeler, MRC Global and PAC.

• Twelve South Korean firms operate 15 subsidiaries in the Houston area, including Atinum E&P, Hanjin Shipping, Hyundai,

LG Electronics and the Samsung Group.

• Trade and cultural relationships with South Korea are facilitated in Houston through the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, the Korean-American Chamber of Commerce, the Korean Community Center and the Korean-American Society.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 11th busiest gateway for U.S.-South Korea air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and South Korea totaled 2,097.1 metric tons in ’17, a 15.8 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $140.8 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; articles of iron or steel; and electrical machinery, equipment, and parts, accounting for 60.9 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-South Korea trade has trended upward over the past decade, growing from $4.5 billion in ’08 to $6.8 billion in ’17. Over the past year, trade between Houston and South Korea climbed

34.3 percent over $5.1 billion in ’16, largely due to an increase in the export value of mineral fuels, oils and refined products, and the import value of articles of iron and steel.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND SOUTH KORE A

Imports

Exports

9 8 7 $ Billions

6 5 4 3 2 1 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 26

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E X PO RTS TO SO U TH KO RE A via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

563.2

1,410.8

47.2

150.5

Organic Chemicals

936.5

986.5

33.0

5.3

Industrial Equipment and Computers

344.1

230.8

7.7

-32.9

Plastics and Plastic Products

148.0

118.5

4.0

-19.9

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

61.2

58.9

2.0

-3.9

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

30.0

50.9

1.7

69.7

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

52.6

49.6

1.7

-5.7

Cotton Woven Fabrics

2.9

10.5

0.4

260.4

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

8.2

8.7

0.3

6.1

Pharmaceutical Products

0.2

6.6

0.2

2,146.9

2,931.7

98.0

36.6

142.1

59.4

2.0

-58.2

2,289.0

2,991.1

100.0

30.7

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

I M PO RTS FROM SO U TH KO RE A via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Articles of Iron or Steel

721.1

1,499.0

39.5

107.9

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

271.3

396.0

10.4

46.0

Organic Chemicals

457.7

358.4

9.4

-21.7

Industrial Equipment and Computers

377.0

337.3

8.9

-10.5

Ships, Boats, and Floating Structures

0.0

321.0

8.5

Motor Vehicles and Parts

336.5

299.5

7.9

-11.0

Iron and Steel

175.6

195.6

5.2

11.4

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

171.5

117.5

3.1

-31.5

Plastics and Plastic Products

73.0

93.6

2.5

28.2

Paper and Paperboard Articles

50.8

30.6

0.8

-39.7

2,634.5

3,648.7

96.1

38.5

129.9

147.9

3.9

13.9

2,764.4

3,796.6

100.0

37.3

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

J A PA N HOUSTON’S #7 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the 11th busiest gateway for U.S.-Japan trade (by value), and Japan is Houston’s seventh largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Japan averaged $4.5 billion annually and was valued at $6.4 billion in ’17. More than 4,200 people living in the Houston metro area were born in Japan.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Eleven Houston firms operate 20 subsidiary locations in Japan, including Amerex, American Bureau of Shipping, Chevron Phillips Chemical, NetIQ and Vinson & Elkins.

are involved in sharing the Japanese culture to the community, such as the Greater Houston Japanese Association and the Japan America Society of Houston.

• One hundred and one Japanese firms operate 148 subsidiaries

• Two airlines, All Nippon Airways and United Airlines, offer daily

in the Houston area, including Goodman Manufacturing, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kuraray, Marubeni and Windsor Foods.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Japan are facilitated in

Houston through the Consulate General of Japan, the Japan Business Association of Houston and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Several Houston-based organizations

nonstop passenger flights from Houston to Tokyo, Japan.

• Of Houston’s 20 foreign-owned banks, three are from Japan:

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

• Chiba, Japan was designated as one of Houston’s 18 international sister cities in 1972.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 14th busiest gateway for U.S.-Japan air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Japan totaled 5,215.9 metric tons in ’17, a 7.6 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $348.7 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; optic, photographic, measuring, medical instruments; and electrical machinery, equipment, and parts, accounting for 45.8 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Japan trade has grown substantially over the past decade and reached a record high of $6.4 billion in ’17. Although Houston’s imports of Japanese goods have declined, Houston’s exports to Japan have grown from $651.9 million in ’08 to $4.5

billion in ’17. This increase is largely due to an increase in the export of mineral fuels, oils and refined products, and organic chemicals.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND JAPAN

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

6 4 2 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 28

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E X P O R T S TO J A PA N

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

1,463.5

2,879.9

64.2

96.8

Organic Chemicals

1,087.5

1,308.8

29.2

20.3

Plastics and Plastic Products

34.6

52.4

1.2

51.3

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

67.5

51.0

1.1

-24.5

Industrial Equipment and Computers

39.9

50.1

1.1

25.6

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

39.7

44.3

1.0

11.6

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

33.3

32.6

0.7

-2.0

Soaps, Waxes, Polishes, Candles, Dental Preps

8.9

8.0

0.2

-10.0

Fertilizers

9.7

7.9

0.2

-18.8

Books, Newspapers, Magazines

1.2

7.9

0.2

541.2

2,786.0

4,443.0

99.0

59.5

67.0

44.1

1.0

-34.3

2,853.1

4,487.0

100.0

57.3

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

I M P O R T S F R O M J A PA N

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Industrial Equipment and Computers

771.4

828.2

42.4

7.4

Articles of Iron or Steel

160.0

220.5

11.3

37.8

Organic Chemicals

179.6

179.3

9.2

-0.2

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

147.0

166.3

8.5

13.1

Plastics and Plastic Products

93.6

105.8

5.4

13.0

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

67.3

80.6

4.1

19.8

Iron and Steel

77.7

68.8

3.5

-11.5

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

52.9

59.7

3.1

12.9

Motor Vehicles and Parts

98.7

55.7

2.9

-43.5

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

33.8

34.1

1.7

0.9

1,682.0

1,798.9

92.2

7.0

113.9

152.8

7.8

34.2

1,795.8

1,951.7

100.0

8.7

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

SAUDI ARABIA HOUSTON’S #8 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the busiest gateway for U.S.-Saudi Arabia trade (by value), and Saudi Arabia is Houston’s eighth largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Saudi Arabia averaged $9.6 billion annually and was valued at $5.7 billion in ’17. More than 4,500 people living in the Houston metro were born in Saudi Arabia.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twenty-three Houston firms operate 36 subsidiary locations

in Saudi Arabia, including Baker Botts, Baker Hughes, Foster Wheeler, Halliburton and Wild Well Control.

• Seven Saudi firms operate 11 subsidiaries in the Houston area, including Al-Zamil, ATCO, Rezayat, SABIC Americas and Saudi Aramco.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Saudi Arabia are facilitated in Houston through the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Arab-American Cultural and Community Center.

• One of Houston’s 20 foreign-owned banks, Riyad Bank, is from Saudi Arabia.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the busiest gateway for U.S.-Saudi Arabia air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Saudi Arabia totaled 13,233.4 metric tons in ’17, a 28.6 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $531.0 million.

• The top three commodities in ’17 by weight were industrial equipment and computers; plastics and plastic products; and articles of iron or steel, accounting for 51.9 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Saudi Arabia trade reached a peak of $15.4 billion in ’12 before entering a decline. Most recently, trade between Houston and Saudi Arabia decreased 10.1 percent from $6.3 billion in ’16 to $5.7 billion in ’17, largely due to a decline in the export value of both motor vehicles and parts, and industrial equipment and

computers. Exports have remained consistent over the past decade, ranging between $1.8 billion and $3.4 billion. On the other hand, most of the trade fluctuations are with imports which are composed primarily of mineral fuels, oil and refined products.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND SAUDI ARABIA

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 30

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO SAU DI AR ABIA via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,016.4

564.9

24.7

-44.4

652.4

507.3

22.1

-22.2

31.4

271.1

11.8

762.4

Motor Vehicles and Parts

Industrial Equipment and Computers

Arms and Ammunition

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

163.8

144.8

6.3

-11.6

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

176.0

137.8

6.0

-21.7

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

121.1

103.2

4.5

-14.8

Plastics and Plastic Products

91.9

89.2

3.9

-3.0

Articles of Iron or Steel

86.6

82.1

3.6

-5.2

Cereals

33.5

58.1

2.5

73.6

Metal Tools, Implements, Cutlery

53.0

48.3

2.1

-8.9

2,426.1

2,006.6

87.6

-17.3

449.4

283.8

12.4

-36.8

2,875.5

2,290.4

100.0

-20.3

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM SAUDI AR ABIA via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

3,274.8

3,170.4

93.9

-3.2

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Articles of Iron or Steel

10.0

73.2

2.2

629.7

Organic Chemicals

52.9

52.1

1.5

-1.6

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

53.9

50.0

1.5

-7.3

Industrial Equipment and Computers

1.1

7.5

0.2

610.7

Aluminum and Aluminum Products

20.3

6.6

0.2

-67.5

Plastics and Plastic Products

5.0

0.1

1.0

Iron and Steel

1.4

2.4

0.1

76.4

Rubber and Rubber Products

0.0

1.9

0.1

Metal Tools, Implements, Cutlery

1.5

1.4

0.0

-4.5

3,420.8

3,370.3

99.9

-1.5

3.6

4.4

0.1

25.0

3,424.4

3,374.8

100.0

-1.4

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

UNITED KINGDOM HOUSTON’S #9 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the seventh busiest gateway for U.S.-U.K. trade (by value), and the United Kingdom is Houston’s ninth largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and the United Kingdom averaged $6.0 billion annually and was valued at $5.6 billion in ’17. More than 19,200 people living in the Houston metro were born in the United Kingdom.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Seventy-four Houston firms operate 236 subsidiary locations

• Three airlines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines and United

• One hundred and forty-four British firms operate 247

• Two of Houston’s 20 foreign-owned banks are from the United

in the United Kingdom, including Apache, Bristow Group, Golfmark Offshore, McDermott International and Vinson & Elkins. subsidiaries in the Houston area, including Accenture, BP, Intertek, Rolls-Royce and Subsea 7.

• Trade and cultural relationships with the United Kingdom are facilitated in Houston through the Consulate General of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Scottish Development International and the British-American Business Council.

Airlines, offer approximately 20 weekly nonstop passenger flights from Houston to the United Kingdom. Destinations include London and Manchester. Kingdom: Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered Bank.

• Aberdeen, Scotland was designated as one of Houston’s 18 international sister cities in 1979.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the eighth busiest gateway for U.S.-U.K. air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and the United Kingdom totaled 14,780.3 metric tons in ’17, a 19.8 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $933.1 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; articles of iron or steel; and electrical machinery, equipment, and parts, accounting for 53.3 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-U.K. trade has fluctuated over the past decade, from a 10-year peak of $7.6 billion in ’08 to a low of $4.5 billion in ’16. Trade has since increased 22.5 percent to $5.6 billion in ’17, with growth driven primarily by the rise in export value of mineral

fuels, oil, and refined products. Exports have grown steadily as a percentage of total trade, starting at 42.4 percent of total trade in ’08 and reaching 62.8 percent by ’17.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND U N ITE D KIN GD OM

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

6 4 2 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 32

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO U NITED KINGDOM via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

911.5

1,909.0

54.6

109.4

Industrial Equipment and Computers

555.5

497.5

14.2

-10.5

Organic Chemicals

63.5

137.0

3.9

115.9

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

115.3

118.4

3.4

2.7

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

225.8

115.7

3.3

-48.7

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

91.7

87.1

2.5

-4.9

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

44.8

67.8

1.9

51.4

Plastics and Plastic Products

74.4

67.8

1.9

-8.8

Paper and Paperboard Articles

43.6

52.9

1.5

21.2

Arms and Ammunition

4.1

42.6

1.2

926.8

2,130.2

3,095.9

88.5

45.3

438.9

401.0

11.5

-8.6

2,569.1

3,496.9

100.0

36.1

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM UNITED KINGDOM via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Industrial Equipment and Computers

494.4

557.0

26.9

12.7

Motor Vehicles and Parts

241.7

261.4

12.6

8.1

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

137.9

135.3

6.5

-1.9

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

177.5

130.9

6.3

-26.2

Organic Chemicals

56.5

120.4

5.8

113.0

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

77.7

117.6

5.7

51.5

Articles of Iron or Steel

118.3

109.0

5.3

-7.9

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

98.7

98.6

4.8

-0.1

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

87.7

74.4

3.6

-15.2

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

63.6

70.4

3.4

10.8

1,554.1

1,675.0

81.0

7.8

420.8

392.5

19.0

-6.7

1,974.9

2,067.6

100.0

4.7

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

C O LO M B I A HOUSTON’S # 10 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the second busiest gateway for U.S.-Colombia trade (by value), and Colombia is Houston’s 10th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Colombia averaged $8.0 billion annually and was valued at $5.1 billion in ’17. More than 25,500 people living in the Houston metro were born in Colombia.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Seventeen Houston firms operate 37 subsidiary locations in Colombia, including Halliburton, National Oilwell Varco, Schlumberger, Stewart & Stevenson and the Brock Group.

• One Colombian firm, Argos Southern Star Concrete, operates several subsidiaries in the Houston area.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Colombia are facilitated

in Houston through the Consulate General of the Republic of Colombia, the Colombian Texas Chamber of Commerce of Houston and Houston Colombian Fest International.

• United Airlines offers two daily nonstop passenger flights from Houston to Bogota, Colombia.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the seventh busiest gateway for U.S.-Colombia air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Colombia totaled 433.7

metric tons in ’17, a 56.9 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $24.2 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; miscellaneous industrial components, equipment, and parts; and articles of iron or steel, accounting for 60.2 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Colombia trade increased from $5.1 billion in ’08 to $11.7 billion in ’13, and then gradually declined to $5.1 billion in ’17. The decline in total trade between Houston and Colombia from ’14 onwards is due to a drop in oil exports resulting from the global decline in the value of traded oil, along with a subsequent

depreciation of the Colombian peso. Most recently, however, the value of Colombia’s imports to Houston have grown 6.5 percent from $1.7 billion in ’16 to $1.8 billion in ’17, due to an increase in the import of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products, and articles of iron or steel.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND COLOMBIA

Imports

Exports

12 10

$ Billions

8 6 4 2 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 34

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO COLOMBIA via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,770.5

1,641.4

50.1

-7.3

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Organic Chemicals

590.3

609.0

18.6

3.2

Plastics and Plastic Products

375.8

333.1

10.2

-11.4

Industrial Equipment and Computers

129.6

150.0

4.6

15.7

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

83.6

104.7

3.2

25.3

Cereals

94.5

103.4

3.2

9.4

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

9.4

64.2

2.0

583.8

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

31.2

46.9

1.4

50.0

Cotton Woven Fabrics

31.7

33.8

1.0

6.4

Articles of Iron or Steel

23.8

30.1

0.9

26.3

3,140.4

3,116.5

95.1

-0.8

155.8

161.3

4.9

3.5

3,296.2

3,277.8

100.0

-0.6

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM COLOMBIA via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,464.4

1,520.7

83.3

3.8

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Coffee, Tea, Spices

79.4

78.7

4.3

-0.9

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

36.0

39.5

2.2

9.7

Articles of Iron or Steel

13.6

35.3

1.9

158.6

Organic Chemicals

20.3

26.2

1.4

29.1

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

19.2

24.9

1.4

29.8

Plastics and Plastic Products

16.8

17.7

1.0

5.4

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

11.7

15.9

0.9

36.1

Edible Fruit and Nuts

10.8

13.3

0.7

22.9

Glass and Glassware

4.8

9.5

0.5

100.7

1,676.9

1,781.6

97.6

6.2

36.3

43.7

2.4

20.4

1,713.2

1,825.4

100.0

6.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

I TA LY HOUSTON’S # 11 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the second busiest gateway for U.S.-Italy trade (by value), and Italy is Houston’s 11th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Italy averaged $3.7 billion annually and was valued at $5.0 billion in ’17. More than 2,000 people living in the Houston metro were born in Italy.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twenty Houston firms operate 48 subsidiary locations in Italy, including BMC Software, Exterran Holdings, Foster Wheeler, Hines and Schlumberger.

• Seventeen Italian firms operate 20 subsidiaries in the Houston

• Trade and cultural relationships with Italy are facilitated in

Houston through the Consulate General of the Italian Republic, the Italian Trade Commission, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Cultural and Community Center.

area, including Eni Petroleum, M&G Polymers, OMB Valves, Reagens USA and Valvitalia.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 11th busiest gateway for U.S.-Italy air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Italy totaled 6,718.5

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; articles of iron or steel; and iron and steel, accounting for 65.4 percent of total air cargo trade.

metric tons in ’17, a 9.4 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $246.9 million.

TRADE Houston-Italy trade has doubled over the past decade from a 10-year low of $2.5 billion in ’10 to a high of $5.0 billion in ’17. Most recently, trade between Houston and Italy increased 38.4 percent, largely due to an increase in the export value of mineral

fuels, oils, and refined products and the import value of industrial equipment and computers and motor vehicles and parts. Imports make up much of trade between the two partners, representing 70.5 percent of total trade in ’17.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND ITALY

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

4 3 2 1 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 36

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E X P O R T S T O I TA LY

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

370.2

820.5

55.9

121.7

Industrial Equipment and Computers

117.6

101.8

6.9

-13.4

Organic Chemicals

69.9

96.7

6.6

38.4

Raw Hides, Skins, and Leather

55.4

83.0

5.7

49.9

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

69.3

63.5

4.3

-8.4

Cereals

32.4

49.6

3.4

52.9

Plastics and Plastic Products

37.0

40.6

2.8

9.6

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

33.5

34.2

2.3

2.0

Edible Fruit and Nuts

8.6

26.2

1.8

204.5

Paper and Paperboard Articles

22.3

25.8

1.8

16.1

Total Top 10 Commodities

816.3

1,342.0

91.4

64.4

All Other Commodities

181.1

126.4

8.6

-30.2

TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

997.4

1,468.5

100.0

47.2

I M P O R T S F R O M I TA LY

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,005.6

1,259.9

36.0

25.3

275.6

328.7

9.4

19.3

66.0

272.9

7.8

313.5

Industrial Equipment and Computers

Articles of Iron or Steel

Motor Vehicles and Parts

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

121.7

191.5

5.5

57.4

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

162.9

170.8

4.9

4.8

Pharmaceutical Products

33.0

151.4

4.3

358.9

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

71.3

135.8

3.9

90.6

Iron and Steel

53.0

106.0

3.0

99.9

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

84.0

94.1

2.7

12.1

Organic Chemicals

84.1

85.9

2.5

2.1

1,957.2

2,797.0

79.9

42.9

637.9

705.8

20.1

10.6

2,595.1

3,502.8

100.0

35.0

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

INDIA HOUSTON’S # 12 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the fourth busiest gateway for U.S.-India trade (by value), and India is Houston’s 12th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and India averaged $4.4 billion annually and was valued at $4.9 billion in ’17. Nearly 82,000 people living in the Houston metro were born in India.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twenty-eight Houston firms operate 69 subsidiary locations in India, including KBR, Nalco Champion, NetIQ Micro Focus, Oceaneering International and Walter P. Moore.

• Twenty Indian firms operate 28 subsidiaries in the Houston

• Trade and cultural relationships with India are facilitated in

Houston through the Consulate General of the Republic of India, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, India House and the Indo-American Association.

area, including HCL Technologies, JSW Steel, Mahindira North America, Reliance Holding and Welspun Global Trade.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the eighth busiest gateway for U.S.-India air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and India totaled 9,332.9

metric tons in ’17, a 55.8 percent increase from ’16, and was valued at $245.5 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial equipment and computers; articles of iron or steel; and motor vehicles and parts, accounting for 65.3 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-India trade grew from a 10-year low of $3.3 billion in ’09 to a 10-year peak of $7.5 billion in ’12. After that peak trade steadily declined for the following four years. Most recently, trade between Houston and India increased 46.0 percent from $3.3 billion in ’16

to $4.9 billion in ’17, largely due to growth in the value of trade in mineral fuels, oil, and refined products and organic chemicals. Though both imports and exports contributed to the growth, the value of imports grew faster than that of exports during this time.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND IN DIA

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 38

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO INDIA

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

177.6

623.0

27.0

250.7

Organic Chemicals

250.4

495.7

21.5

97.9

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

130.2

249.0

10.8

91.3

Industrial Equipment and Computers

313.9

214.4

9.3

-31.7

Plastics and Plastic Products

230.2

200.6

8.7

-12.9

Cotton Woven Fabrics

25.1

126.8

5.5

405.3

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

137.5

102.6

4.5

-25.4

Motor Vehicles and Parts

47.3

51.4

2.2

8.7

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

42.2

45.3

2.0

7.5

Iron and Steel

49.9

28.6

1.2

-42.8

1,404.3

2,137.3

92.8

52.2

236.1

166.6

7.2

-29.4

1,640.4

2,303.9

100.0

40.4

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM INDIA

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Industrial Equipment and Computers

296.8

433.9

17.0

46.2

Gums, Resins, and Vegetable Extracts

145.9

299.1

11.7

105.0

Articles of Iron or Steel

176.4

294.9

11.6

67.1

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

141.9

283.9

11.1

100.0

Organic Chemicals

123.4

159.8

6.3

29.5

Linens, Needlecraft Sets, Worn Clothing

119.2

140.5

5.5

17.9

Fish, Crustaceans and Aquatic Invertebrates

60.5

107.4

4.2

77.4

Iron and Steel

58.7

95.6

3.8

62.8

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

36.5

86.0

3.4

135.3

Motor Vehicles and Parts

50.9

52.7

2.1

3.5

1,210.4

1,953.8

76.7

61.4

471.3

592.9

23.3

25.8

1,681.7

2,546.6

100.0

51.4

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

VENEZUELA HOUSTON’S # 13 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the second busiest gateway for U.S.-Venezuela trade (by value), and Venezuela is Houston’s 13th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Venezuela averaged $13.7 billion annually and was valued at $4.8 billion in ‘17. More than 21,000 people living in the Houston metro were born in Venezuela.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Seventeen Houston firms operate 49 subsidiary locations in

Venezuela, including American Bureau of Shipping, DresserRand, NALCO Champion, TETRA Technologies and TIW.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Venezuela are facilitated in Houston through the Consulate General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Viva Venezuela Fest, a festival that celebrates the Venezuelan culture with Venezuelan performers and food.

• Three Venezuelan firms operate five subsidiaries in the Houston area, including CITGO, Mercantil Bank and OTEPI.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the second busiest gateway for U.S.-Venezuela air cargo trade (by weight).

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were electrical machinery, equipment, and parts; industrial equipment and computers; and miscellaneous chemical products, accounting for 86.4 percent of total air cargo trade.

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Venezuela totaled 81.4

metric tons in ’17, a 76.8 percent decrease from ’16, and was valued at $9.0 million.

TRADE After reaching a 10-year high, Houston-Venezuela trade declined from $21.3 billion in ’08 to $12.3 billion in ’09, a result of the decline in the value of traded oil. Trade grew until ’13, when the oil imports again decreased in value. Political unrest in Venezuela has caused trade with Houston to slip to $4.8 billion in ’17, the lowest level in 10 years. The value of Venezuela’s imports to Houston declined

14.5 percent from $3.3 billion in ’16 to $2.8 billion in ’17, due to a decrease in the import value of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products. Houston’s exports decreased 9.7 percent from $2.2 billion in ’16 to $2.0 billion in ’17, mostly because of a decrease in exports of industrial equipment, computers and organic chemicals.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND VE N E ZUE L A

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

20 15 10 5 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 40

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO VENEZU EL A via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,148.0

1,465.2

72.6

27.6

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Industrial Equipment and Computers

384.3

159.6

7.9

-58.5

Organic Chemicals

194.7

92.8

4.6

-52.4

Cereals

84.3

74.0

3.7

-12.2

Articles of Iron or Steel

85.1

48.0

2.4

-43.6

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

75.5

43.5

2.2

-42.3

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

69.8

29.1

1.4

-58.2

Plastics and Plastic Products

44.8

16.7

0.8

-62.7

Soaps, Waxes, Polishes, Candles, Dental Preps

6.5

13.3

0.7

104.5

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

12.5

13.1

0.7

4.8

2,105.5

1,955.4

96.8

-7.1

131.3

64.0

3.2

-51.2

2,236.8

2,019.5

100.0

-9.7

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM VENEZUEL A via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

3,225.2

2,737.3

97.0

-15.1

32.7

36.2

1.3

10.9

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Organic Chemicals

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

9.5

20.5

0.7

115.6

Precious Stones, Metals, Coins, Pearls

2.5

7.5

0.3

197.8

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

4.5

0.2

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

16.2

4.3

0.2

-73.2

Paper and Paperboard Articles

0.4

4.1

0.1

Iron and Steel

0.0

1.5

0.1

Plastics and Plastic Products

0.8

1.1

0.0

43.6

Fertilizers

0.0

1.0

0.0

3,287.3

2,818.0

99.9

-14.3

12.6

4.0

0.1

-68.6

3,299.9

2,822.0

100.0

-14.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES * Less than $100,000 value traded. Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

B E LG I U M HOUSTON’S # 14 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the second busiest gateway for U.S.-Belgium trade (by value), and Belgium is Houston’s 14th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Belgium averaged $4.3 billion annually and was valued at $4.2 billion in ’17.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twelve Houston firms operate 19 subsidiary locations in Belgium, including Baker Botts, BMC Software, Cyberonics, Furmanite and MRC Global.

• Twelve Belgian firms operate 17 subsidiaries in the Houston area, including Budweiser Brewery, EXMAR Offshore, Harrington Industrial Plastics, LUC Urethanes and Solvay.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Belgium are facilitated in

Houston through the Consulate of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Belgian Trade Commission, Flanders Investment & Trade and the Belgian Club of Greater Houston, an organization that promotes intercultural exchange through its wide variety of activities between Belgians and Houstonians.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the ninth busiest gateway for U.S.-Belgium air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Belgium totaled 3,864.6 metric tons in ’17, a 52.8 percent increase from ’16, and was valued at $115.8 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were plastics and

plastic products; industrial equipment and computers; and miscellaneous chemical products, accounting for 80.2 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Belgium trade has fluctuated from $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion over the past 10 years. After reaching its 10-year high in ’13, trade gradually declined, largely due to a decrease in the value of trade in organic chemicals and mineral fuel oil. Most recently, however, trade between Houston and Belgium increased 7.5

percent from $3.9 billion in ’16 and to $4.2 billion in ’17, mostly because of an increase in the value of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products and organic chemicals traded between the two countries.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND BELGIUM

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

4 3 2 1 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 42

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO BELGI UM

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,223.9

1,270.8

40.9

3.8

Organic Chemicals

Plastics and Plastic Products

693.5

661.3

21.3

-4.6

Industrial Equipment and Computers

176.1

188.0

6.1

6.8

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

158.6

175.7

5.7

10.8

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

162.2

168.0

5.4

3.6

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

107.8

106.5

3.4

-1.2

Rubber and Rubber Products

64.0

72.6

2.3

13.4

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

52.3

63.8

2.1

22.0

Food Industry Residues and Animal Feeds

42.2

54.6

1.8

29.4

Essential Oils, Perfumery, Cosmetic Products

2.3

47.0

1.5

2,682.7

2,808.4

90.4

4.7

312.9

297.9

9.6

-4.8

2,995.7

3,106.3

100.0

3.7

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM BELGIUM via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

334.4

481.5

45.6

44.0

Organic Chemicals

144.4

207.6

19.6

43.8

Industrial Equipment and Computers

70.5

74.0

7.0

5.0

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

39.7

50.9

4.8

28.2

Plastics and Plastic Products

49.3

38.4

3.6

-22.0

Iron and Steel

44.2

35.3

3.3

-20.1

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

51.7

32.8

3.1

-36.5

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

24.3

20.2

1.9

-16.6

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

19.7

17.4

1.6

-11.8

Cocoa and Cocoa Products

12.8

15.6

1.5

21.2

Total Top 10 Commodities

790.9

973.8

92.1

23.1

85.3

83.1

7.9

-2.5

876.2

1,056.9

100.0

20.6

All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

SINGAPORE HOUSTON’S # 15 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the sixth busiest gateway for U.S.-Singapore trade (by value), and Singapore is Houston’s 15th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Singapore averaged $3.5 billion annually and was valued at $3.5 billion in ’17.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Forty-five Houston firms operate 72 subsidiary locations in Singapore, including Chevron Phillips Chemical, KMG Chemicals, MRC Global, National Oilwell Varco and Powell Industries.

Keppel Offshore & Marine USA, Mid-Continent Equipment, QuEST Global and W-Industries.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Singapore are facilitated

in Houston through the Consulate General of the Republic of Singapore and Malaysian Singaporean Association of Houston.

• Eight Singaporean firms operate nine subsidiaries in the Houston area, including Consolidated Airline Services (CAS),

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 10th busiest gateway for U.S.-Singapore air cargo trade (by weight).

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; articles of iron or steel; and electrical machinery, equipment, and parts, accounting for 59.9 percent of total air cargo trade.

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Singapore totaled

6,738.5 metric tons in ’17, a 15.4 percent decrease from ’16, and was valued at $569.8 million.

TRADE Houston-Singapore trade has increased steadily during the first half of the last decade, from $2.7 billion in ’08 to $4.7 billion in ’12, which was the 10-year high. From ’13 to ’16, trade between Houston and Singapore slipped due to declines in the value of trade in oil products sent from Houston to Singapore. More recently, trade has increased 31.5 percent from $2.7 billion in ’16 to $3.5 billion in

’17. Houston’s exports to Singapore grew due to an increase in the export of mineral fuels, oils and refined products and industrial equipment and computers. Exports were 89.3 percent of total trade in ’17 and have averaged 84.8 percent of annual trade over the past decade.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND SIN GAPORE

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

4 3 2 1 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 44

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO SINGAPORE via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

907.7

1,645.9

52.0

81.3

Industrial Equipment and Computers

427.3

495.2

15.7

15.9

Organic Chemicals

144.0

184.4

5.8

28.1

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

180.9

150.6

4.8

-16.7

Plastics and Plastic Products

117.4

145.8

4.6

24.2

Animal or Vegetable Fats, Oils, Waxes

44.3

113.8

3.6

156.8

Rubber and Rubber Products

173.4

113.3

3.6

-34.7

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

120.9

92.1

2.9

-23.8

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

116.5

67.2

2.1

-42.3

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

21.2

44.6

1.4

110.4

2,253.7

3,052.9

96.5

35.5

109.1

109.6

3.5

0.4

2,362.8

3,162.5

100.0

33.8

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM SINGAPORE via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

32.6

70.0

18.5

114.9

122.9

68.7

18.2

-44.1

Plastics and Plastic Products

Industrial Equipment and Computers

Organic Chemicals

26.1

63.8

16.8

144.0

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

47.3

53.2

14.1

12.5

Ships, Boats, and Floating Structures

2.6

50.0

13.2

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

18.9

17.6

4.6

-6.9

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

28.0

11.0

2.9

-60.6

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

15.9

8.6

2.3

-46.2

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

8.7

6.7

1.8

-22.2

Metal Tools, Implements, Cutlery

3.4

6.0

1.6

78.7

306.4

355.6

94.0

16.1

24.5

22.9

6.0

-6.8

330.9

378.5

100.0

14.4

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

CANADA HOUSTON’S # 16 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the 18th busiest gateway for U.S.-Canada trade (by value), and Canada is Houston’s 16th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Canada averaged $2.4 billion annually and was valued at $3.3 billion in ’17. More than 14,000 people living in the Houston metro were born in Canada.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Sixty-four Houston firms operate 705 subsidiary locations in

Canada, including Bredero Shaw, Corrpro, DistributionNow (DNOW), Service Corporation International (SCI) and the Willbros Group.

• Seventy-one Canadian firms operate 114 subsidiaries in the Houston area, including Enerflex, Lululemon Athletica, Nexen Energy Services U.S.ATMS International (formerly known as Tube City IMS) and Trimac Transportation.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Canada are facilitated

in Houston through the Consulate of Canada, the CanadaTexas Chamber of Commerce (CTCC) and the Canadian Club

of Houston, an organization dedicated to promoting Canadian culture and commerce in Houston.

• Three airlines, Air Canada, United Airlines and WestJet, offer

a total of 17 daily nonstop passenger flights between Houston and five cities in Canada. Destinations include Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal-PET and Vancouver.

• Five of Houston’s 20 foreign-owned banks are from Canada: Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada and TorontoDominion Bank.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 23rd busiest gateway for U.S.-Canada air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Canada totaled 438.1 metric tons in ’17, a 34.7 percent increase from ’16, and was valued at $62.3 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; fish, crustaceans and aquatic invertebrates; and articles of iron or steel, accounting for 66.6 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Between ’08 to ’14, Houston-Canada trade showed a tenfold increase in value, from $549.1 million to $5.8 billion. This was mostly due to increases in the export value of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products. In ’15 and ’16, trade between Houston and Canada slipped due to declines in the export value of oil products.

Trade again increased 189.0 percent to $3.3 billion in ’17 because of the rebounding oil prices. From ’11 onwards, the majority of Houston-Canadian total trade consisted of exports from Houston to Canada, averaging 76.8 percent of total trade between ’11 and ’17.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND C AN ADA

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

5 4 3 2 1 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 46

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO CANADA

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

647.2

2,666.0

97.7

311.9

34.8

13.7

0.5

-60.6

3.7

8.8

0.3

139.5

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Organic Chemicals

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

Industrial Equipment and Computers

76.6

8.0

0.3

-89.6

Articles of Iron or Steel

12.2

6.6

0.2

-45.5

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

1.3

6.0

0.2

362.7

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

2.9

4.7

0.2

62.6

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

4.3

0.2

Plastics and Plastic Products

4.3

4.1

0.2

-3.0

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

13.4

3.3

0.1

-75.3

796.3

2,725.5

99.9

242.3

3.2

3.6

0.1

11.8

799.5

2,729.1

100.0

241.4

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM CANADA via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

130.4

310.9

57.3

138.4

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Organic Chemicals

47.9

84.4

15.6

76.3

Industrial Equipment and Computers

39.3

47.0

8.7

19.7

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

11.7

24.6

4.5

111.0

Ores, Slag, and Ash

1.4

22.0

4.1

Animal or Vegetable Fats, Oils, Waxes

9.3

21.5

4.0

131.1

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

8.8

8.1

1.5

-8.6

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

8.4

6.7

1.2

-20.5

Articles of Iron or Steel

48.9

4.5

0.8

-90.7

Plastics and Plastic Products

4.8

2.3

0.4

-52.7

311.0

532.0

98.1

71.1

21.5

10.3

1.9

-52.3

332.5

542.2

100.0

63.1

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES * Less than $100,000 value traded. Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

FRANCE HOUSTON’S # 17 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the seventh busiest gateway for U.S.-France trade (by value), and France is Houston’s 17th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and France averaged $3.8 billion annually and was valued at $3.2 billion in ’17. More than 4,500 people living in the Houston metro were born in France.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twenty-one Houston firms operate 56 subsidiary locations in France, including BMC Software, Dresser-Rand, Hines, KMG Chemicals and National Oilwell Varco.

The French Alliance, which offers language instruction and organizes cultural events, is also located in Houston, as well as the Texan French Alliance for the Arts.

• Sixty-one French firms operate 121 subsidiaries in the Houston

• Air France offers daily nonstop passenger flights from Houston

area, including Air Liquide USA, Engie North America (formerly known as GDF Suez), Schneider Electric, Total Gas & Power North America and VAM USA.

• Trade and cultural relationships with France are facilitated

in Houston through the Consulate General of the French Republic and the French American Chamber of Commerce.

to Paris.

• Of Houston’s 20 foreign-owned banks, four are from France: BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Natixis and Societe Generale.

• Nice, France was designated as one of Houston’s 18 international sister cities in 1973.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the 14th busiest gateway for U.S.-France air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and France totaled 3,936.1 metric tons in ’17, a 3.3 percent decrease from ’16, and was valued at $631.2 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial

equipment and computers; electrical machinery and equipment, and parts; and aircraft, spacecraft, and parts, accounting for 44.8 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-France trade has fluctuated between $3.0 billion and $5.3 billion over the past 10 years. After reaching its peak in ’12, the value of trade gradually declined, mostly due to drops in the value of industrial equipment and a fall in the value of mineral oil

shipments. Most recently, however, trade between Houston and France increased 9.6 percent from $2.9 billion in ’16 to $3.2 billion in ’17, largely due to an increase in the export value of aircraft, spacecraft, and parts.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND FRAN CE

Imports

Exports

6 5 $ Billions

4 3 2 1 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 48

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO FR ANCE

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

732.4

736.7

38.7

0.6

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

146.6

435.0

22.9

196.7

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

176.1

233.7

12.3

32.8

Organic Chemicals

62.5

103.1

5.4

64.9

Industrial Equipment and Computers

86.5

57.5

3.0

-33.5

Plastics and Plastic Products

75.9

53.6

2.8

-29.4

Works of Art, Collectors Pieces, and Antiques

6.7

40.6

2.1

502.1

Rubber and Rubber Products

31.5

34.0

1.8

8.0

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

60.3

25.1

1.3

-58.4

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

24.1

22.5

1.2

-6.5

1,402.6

1,742.0

91.5

24.2

216.6

161.6

8.5

-25.4

1,619.2

1,903.6

100.0

17.6

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM FRANCE via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Industrial Equipment and Computers

281.8

205.8

15.6

-27.0

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

188.5

202.7

15.4

7.6

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

99.2

88.3

6.7

-10.9

Organic Chemicals

63.8

86.5

6.6

35.5

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

67.4

84.4

6.4

25.2

Plastics and Plastic Products

87.1

83.3

6.3

-4.4

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

71.9

71.0

5.4

-1.2

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

21.9

53.6

4.1

145.1

Iron and Steel

38.0

53.0

4.0

39.7

Articles of Iron or Steel

50.8

52.5

4.0

3.3

Total Top 10 Commodities

970.2

981.1

74.4

1.1

All Other Commodities

350.9

337.9

25.6

-3.7

1,321.1

1,319.0

100.0

-0.2

TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

CHILE HOUSTON’S # 18 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the second busiest gateway for U.S.-Chile trade (by value), and Chile is Houston’s 18th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Chile averaged $3.9 billion annually and was valued at $3.2 billion in ’17. Nearly 1,600 Houstonians were born in Chile.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Eight Houston firms operate 10 subsidiary locations in Chile, including Exterran, Foster Wheeler, Hines, Schlumberger and Union Carbide.

• One Chilean firm operates a subsidiary in the Houston area: CSAV Agency North America.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Chile are facilitated in

Houston through the Consulate General of the Republic of Chile and Casa Chilena de Houston, an organization involved in increasing cultural knowledge of Chile.

• United Airlines offers daily nonstop passenger flights from Houston to Santiago, Chile.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the fifth busiest gateway for U.S.-Chile air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Chile totaled 3,577.5 metric tons in ’17, a 32.6 percent increase over ’16, and was valued at $76.3 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were fish,

crustaceans and aquatic invertebrates; industrial equipment and computers; and articles of iron or steel, accounting for 90.3 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Over the past 10 years Houston-Chile trade has fluctuated between $2.6 billion and $5.9 billion. From ’13 to ’16, the annual value of trade gradually declined, mostly because of a sharp drop in oil exports. Most recently, trade between Houston and Chile

increased 23.8 percent from $2.6 billion in ’16 to $3.2 billion in ’17, largely due to increases in the import value of copper and copper products from Chile.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND C H ILE

Imports

Exports

6 5

$ Billions

4 3 2 1 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 50

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO CHILE

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,080.7

1,381.8

51.0

27.9

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Organic Chemicals

246.7

306.9

11.3

24.4

Plastics and Plastic Products

210.1

219.7

8.1

4.6

Industrial Equipment and Computers

201.7

200.3

7.4

-0.7

Motor Vehicles and Parts

52.2

154.2

5.7

195.3

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

83.2

85.9

3.2

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

60.8

61.2

2.3

0.5

Meat and Edible Meat Products

45.1

52.9

2.0

17.4

Rubber and Rubber Products

43.2

46.6

1.7

7.8

Linens, Needlecraft Sets, Worn Clothing

21.3

24.9

0.9

16.6

2,045.0

2,534.3

93.6

23.9

219.7

172.8

6.4

-21.3

2,264.7

2,707.1

100.0

19.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM CHILE

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Copper and Copper Products

36.5

240.7

46.9

559.82

Wood and Wood Products

82.6

75.3

14.7

-8.77

Rubber and Rubber Products

37.6

45.6

8.9

21.29

Fish, Crustaceans and Aquatic Invertebrates

22.3

29.4

5.7

31.45

Edible Fruit and Nuts

24.1

21.6

4.2

-10.59

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

12.1

18.4

3.6

51.27

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

19.8

17.5

3.4

-11.58

Industrial Equipment and Computers

20.1

15.2

3.0

-24.63

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

27.1

10.2

2.0

-62.22

Food Industry Residues and Animal Feeds

7.4

7.2

1.4

-2.2

289.6

481.0

93.8

66.1

46.8

32.0

6.2

-31.8

336.4

512.9

100.0

52.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

RUSSIA HOUSTON’S # 19 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the third busiest gateway for U.S.-Russia trade (by value), and Russia is Houston’s 19th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Russia averaged $6.8 billion annually and was valued at $3.1 billion in ’17. More than 6,900 people living in the Houston metro area were born in Russia.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Twenty-six Houston firms operate 70 subsidiary locations in

Russia, including BMC Software, KBR, Baker Hughes, NALCO Champion and INTECSEA.

• Nine Russian firms operate 22 subsidiaries in the Houston area,

including Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T), HaloPolymer Trading, LUKOIL International Upstream West, Rock Flow Dynamics and Volga-Dnepr Unique Air Cargo.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Russia are facilitated

in Houston through the Consulate General of the Russian Federation, the U.S.-Russian Chamber of Commerce and the United Russian American Association.

• Tyumen, Russia was designed as one of Houston’s 18 international sister cities in 1995.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the fifth busiest gateway for U.S.-Russia air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Russia totaled 1,346.6

metric tons in ’17, a 5.2 percent decrease from ’16, and was valued at $124.9 million.

• In ’17, the top three commodities by weight were industrial equipment and computers; articles of iron or steel; and optic, photographic, measuring, medical instruments, accounting for 63.0 percent of total air cargo trade.

TRADE Houston-Russia trade declined from a high of $10.5 billion in ’11 to $2.8 billion in ’16, the lowest level in 10 years. Trade then increased to $3.1 billion in ’17 on the strength of rebounding oil prices. Fuel oil is the dominant commodity traded between Houston and Russia. Houston’s imports of mineral fuels, oil, and refined products from Russia have accounted for an average of 66.9 percent of the value

of annual trade between Houston and Russia since ’08. Houston’s chief export product to Russia is industrial machinery. Exports from Houston to Russia declined from $836.9 million in ’16 to $690.7 million in ’17, due largely to a decrease in the export value of motor vehicles and electronics.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND RUS S IA

Imports

Exports

12 10

$ Billions

8 6 4 2 0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 52

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO RUSSIA

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Industrial Equipment and Computers

363.8

346.3

50.1

-4.8

Motor Vehicles and Parts

104.5

55.0

8.0

-47.4

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

38.2

49.7

7.2

30.2

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

105.9

41.0

5.9

-61.3

Plastics and Plastic Products

40.1

36.1

5.2

-10.0

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

29.8

35.2

5.1

18.0

Essential Oils, Perfumery, Cosmetic Products

16.1

23.2

3.4

44.1

Articles of Iron or Steel

45.2

22.9

3.3

-49.4

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

16.8

12.5

1.8

-25.2

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

3.3

8.7

1.3

159.3

763.6

630.5

91.3

-17.4

73.3

60.2

8.7

-17.9

836.9

690.7

100.0

-17.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA via Houston-Galveston Customs District

$Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,578.7

1,788.4

73.1

13.3

177.0

200.9

8.2

13.5

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Aluminum and Aluminum Products

Articles of Iron or Steel

54.9

163.4

6.7

197.8

Iron and Steel

38.8

89.8

3.7

131.8

Fertilizers

25.5

33.2

1.4

30.0

Rubber and Rubber Products

23.0

29.7

1.2

29.1

Wood and Wood Products

16.7

22.5

0.9

34.4

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

8.1

22.1

0.9

171.5

Industrial Equipment and Computers

7.6

21.6

0.9

184.3

Railway or Tramway Stock

5.1

18.4

0.8

258.2

1,935.4

2,389.9

97.7

23.5

63.7

55.3

2.3

-13.2

1,999.1

2,445.2

100.0

22.3

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

IRAQ HOUSTON’S #20 TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the busiest gateway for U.S.-Iraq trade (by value), and Iraq is Houston’s 20th largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and Iraq averaged $4.2 billion annually and was valued at $3.1 billion in ’17. More than 5,000 people living in the Houston metro were born in Iraq.

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Three Houston firms operate three subsidiary locations in Iraq: Halliburton, National Oilwell Varco and Schlumberger.

• Trade and cultural relationships with Iraq are facilitated in

Houston through the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Arab

American Cultural Community Center. Houston is also home to the Arabic Immersion Magnet school, the nation’s first Arabic language immersion public school.

• Basra, Iraq was designated as one of Houston’s 18 international sister cities in ’15.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Houston ranks as the fifth busiest gateway for U.S.-Iraq air cargo trade (by weight).

• Air cargo trade between Houston and Iraq totaled 422.1 metric

• In ’17, the top commodities by weight were industrial equipment

and computers and salt, sulfur, stone, lime, and cement plaster, accounting for 55.6 percent of total air cargo trade.

tons in ’17, a 1.1 percent increase from ’16, and was valued at $22.0 million.

TRADE Houston-Iraq trade declined from $7.8 billion in ’12 to $1.7 billion in ’16, mostly due to a drop in the market price of oil. Most recently, trade increased to $3.1 billion in ’17, due to rebounding oil prices. Trade between the two regions is driven by Houston’s imports

from Iraq, which grew from $1.4 billion ’16 to $2.7 billion in ’17. Mineral fuels, oils and refined products accounted for nearly all of Houston’s imports from Iraq in ’17.

TOTA L T R A D E - HO U STO N AND IRAQ

Imports

Exports

$ Billions

0 ’08

’09

’10

’11

’12

Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data 54

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

’13

’14

’15

’16

’17

E XPORTS TO IR AQ

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

11.5

98.3

31.9

752.8

Motor Vehicles and Parts

36.5

51.1

16.6

40.0

Industrial Equipment and Computers

138.0

37.8

12.3

-72.6

Cereals

0.0

32.6

10.6

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

27.7

15.4

5.0

-44.4

Meat and Edible Meat Products

8.4

10.7

3.5

27.8

Toys, Games, and Sports Equipment

1.3

10.6

3.5

719.2

Arms and Ammunition

2.9

10.5

3.4

260.3

Plastics and Plastic Products

4.2

8.2

2.7

95.7

Articles of Iron or Steel

6.8

4.4

1.4

-35.0

237.3

279.6

90.8

17.8

29.3

28.3

9.2

-3.5

266.7

308.0

100.0

15.5

Total Top 10 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

IMPORTS FROM IR AQ

via Houston-Galveston Customs District $Value, Millions Rank

Commodity

’16

’17

% of Total ’17

% Change ’16-’17

1,391.4

2,745.9

100.0

97.3

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

Articles of Iron or Steel

0.0

0.1

0.0

Leather Items, Saddlery, Handbags

0.0

Ceramic Products

0.0

1,391.4

2,746.0

100.0

97.3

0.0

1,391.4

2,746.0

100.0

97.3

Total Top 4 Commodities All Other Commodities TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES * Less than $100,000 value traded. Source: WISERTrade from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division data

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

HOUSTON COMMODIT Y TR ADE RANKED BY VALUE IN 2017 $ Value (Millions) Rank

Commodity Description TOTAL ALL COMMODITIES

% Change

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

195,403.2

161,423.7

192,194.4

-17.4

19.1

Mineral Fuels, Oil, and Refined Products

65,718.2

54,653.2

76,381.3

-16.8

39.8

Industrial Equipment and Computers

28,808.3

20,339.4

19,890.5

-29.4

-2.2

Organic Chemicals

17,041.0

14,463.9

16,546.5

-15.1

14.4

Motor Vehicles and Parts

8,980.5

8,731.4

8,716.8

-2.8

-0.2

Plastics and Plastic Products

8,728.6

7,981.4

8,492.1

-8.6

6.4

Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Parts

9,506.2

8,452.0

8,164.3

-11.1

-3.4

Articles of Iron or Steel

9,632.7

5,525.0

8,027.7

-42.6

45.3

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

4,486.9

3,953.0

4,030.7

-11.9

2.0

Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar

2,638.4

2,601.0

2,987.0

-1.4

14.8

Iron and Steel

2,724.0

1,744.9

2,703.3

-35.9

54.9

Optic, Photographic, Measuring, Medical Instruments

3,344.1

2,516.6

2,587.8

-24.8

2.8

Cereals

2,682.8

2,525.0

2,233.8

-5.9

-11.5

Aircraft, Spacecraft, and Parts

1,673.9

2,198.4

2,081.3

31.3

-5.3

Inorganic Chemicals, Rare Earths, Precious Metals

2,118.3

1,954.1

1,970.5

-7.8

0.8

Rubber and Rubber Products

2,077.8

1,731.8

1,839.6

-16.7

6.2

Furniture, Bedding, Lamps

1,546.4

1,513.0

1,786.2

-2.2

18.1

Miscellaneous Industrial Components, Equipment, and Parts

1,786.6

1,785.7

1,751.7

-0.1

-1.9

Pharmaceutical Products

1,056.3

1,048.5

1,463.1

-0.7

39.5

Aluminum and Aluminum Products

903.2

868.5

1,196.4

-3.8

37.8

Toys, Games, and Sports Equipment

1,067.4

988.4

1,095.0

-7.4

10.8

Cotton Woven Fabrics

442.2

560.7

1,092.4

26.8

94.8

Essential Oils, Perfumery, Cosmetic Products

1,143.6

837.2

840.0

-26.8

0.3

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

$ Value (Millions) Rank

Commodity Description

% Change

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

Wood and Wood Products

616.5

646.1

237.4

4.8

18.7

Soaps, Waxes, Polishes, Candles, Dental Preps

781.8

640.2

225.9

-18.1

16.0

Linens, Needlecraft Sets, Worn Clothing

700.9

668.1

210.9

-4.7

10.4

Ores, Slag, and Ash

578.6

322.0

207.6

-44.4

121.3

Edible Fruit and Nuts

865.7

718.0

206.7

-17.1

-1.0

Products of Stone, Plaster, Cement, Asbestos, Mica

620.0

608.1

205.7

-1.9

7.8

Meat and Edible Meat Products

910.0

618.7

200.6

-32.0

-5.3

Paper and Paperboard Articles

524.9

538.9

168.3

2.7

2.1

Animal or Vegetable Fats, Oils, Waxes

346.3

427.4

157.4

23.4

24.7

Ships, Boats, and Floating Structures

246.6

337.5

155.5

36.9

55.9

Arms and Ammunition

296.7

312.6

152.8

5.4

61.3

Metal Tools, Implements, Cutlery

643.2

502.5

150.0

-21.9

-1.8

Copper and Copper Products

314.9

213.4

142.2

-32.2

121.2

Knitted or Crocheted Apparel and Accessories

506.4

424.1

135.2

-16.3

10.0

Fish, Crustaceans and Aquatic Invertebrates

383.6

383.4

131.4

-0.1

19.3

Coffee, Tea, Spices

409.4

433.8

127.8

5.9

1.3

Salt, Sulfur, Stone, Lime, and Cement Plaster

428.8

303.4

93.3

-29.2

19.8

Non-Knitted Apparel and Accessories

438.1

304.4

82.3

-30.5

14.3

Gums, Resins, and Vegetable Extracts

560.4

188.4

78.4

-66.4

84.3

Precious Stones, Metals, Coins, Pearls

367.7

308.8

68.6

-16.0

9.7

Ceramic Products

285.5

268.4

66.8

-6.0

21.6

Oil Grain, Seed, Fruit, Plant Seeds

419.2

540.9

65.3

29.0

-44.2

Edible Products

389.7

325.2

64.8

-16.6

-12.3

Railway or Tramway Stock

310.4

222.9

61.1

-28.2

22.6

Fertilizers

514.7

303.6

52.2

-41.0

-10.3

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

$ Value (Millions)

Rank

Commodity Description

% Change

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

Vegetable, Fruit, Nut Products

261.3

216.4

49.2

-17.2

10.9

Products made of Base Metal

266.1

221.6

237.4

-16.8

7.2

Food Industry Residues and Animal Feeds

140.7

179.7

225.9

27.7

25.7

Tanning Extracts, Dyes, Paints, Inks

256.6

237.9

210.9

-7.3

-11.3

Glass and Glassware

251.0

212.7

207.6

-15.3

-2.4

Edible Preps of Meat, Fish, Crustaceans

173.3

167.8

206.7

-3.1

23.2

Works of Art, Collectors Pieces, and Antiques

122.2

210.4

205.7

72.2

-2.2

Edible Vegetables, Roots, Tubers

222.4

216.4

200.6

-2.7

-7.3

Cereal, Flour and Milk Products, Bakers Wares

151.2

131.5

168.3

-13.0

27.9

Raw Hides, Skins, and Leather

145.5

132.6

157.4

-8.9

18.8

Leather Items, Saddlery, Handbags

203.6

140.9

155.5

-30.8

10.4

Nickel and Nickel Products

191.8

98.8

152.8

-48.5

54.6

Footwear and Gaiters

648.0

159.2

150.0

-75.4

-5.8

Impregnated Text Fabrics for Industry

95.4

101.9

142.2

6.8

39.6

Explosives, Pyrotechnics, Matches

116.6

102.3

135.2

-12.3

32.2

Modified Starches, Glues, Enzymes

150.3

131.4

-12.6

0.0

Dairy Products, Eggs, Honey

156.9

100.7

127.8

-35.8

27.0

Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles

100.5

104.0

93.3

3.5

-10.3

Base Metals

85.1

79.3

82.3

-6.8

3.8

Miscellaneous Products of Animal Origin

70.5

64.7

78.4

-8.3

21.1

Carpets and Other Textile Floor Coverings

57.3

58.8

68.6

2.6

16.7

Wadding, Felt, Yarn, Twine, Ropes

97.1

77.1

66.8

-20.6

-13.4

Sugars and Sugar Products

82.9

76.4

65.3

-7.8

-14.5

Books, Newspapers, Magazines

94.2

79.2

64.8

-16.0

-18.1

Milling Products, Malt, Starch

69.4

63.4

61.1

-8.6

-3.6

Cocoa and Cocoa Products

46.0

48.3

52.2

5.0

8.2

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

$ Value (Millions) Rank

Commodity Description

% Change

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

Wood Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Waste

69.6

86.4

49.2

24.2

-43.0

Zinc and Zinc Products

41.8

27.0

37.2

-35.3

37.7

Musical Instruments and Parts

46.5

50.7

37.1

9.0

-26.8

Lead and Lead Products

37.9

20.3

35.7

-46.4

75.8

Photographic or Cinematographic Goods

50.6

22.9

30.8

-54.8

34.5

Knitted or Crocheted Fabrics

39.1

36.5

29.6

-6.7

-18.9

Manmade Fliaments and Woven Fabrics

44.2

37.1

26.7

-16.1

-28.1

Headgear and Parts

23.3

19.2

24.7

-17.5

28.9

Manmade Fibers, Yarns, Woven Fabrics

68.0

28.2

20.5

-58.6

-27.2

Feathers, Down, Artificial Flowers

16.6

17.5

20.1

5.9

14.8

Baskets and Straw Products

8.5

17.6

18.1

107.2

2.8

Clocks, Watches, and Parts

19.4

21.5

17.7

10.6

-17.8

Umbrellas, Walking-Sticks, Riding-Crops

13.8

10.5

15.7

-23.6

49.0

Tobacco and Tobacco Substitutes

5.9

8.5

11.5

44.9

35.4

Specialty Fabrics, Lace, Tapestries

15.5

16.5

10.6

6.5

-35.6

Miscellaneous Vegetable Materials and Products

9.0

10.5

8.8

16.4

-15.8

Live Animals

34.8

23.8

6.8

-31.6

-71.6

Wool, Animal Hair Woven Fabrics

3.0

5.7

4.4

91.2

-22.9

Vegetable and Paper Textile Fibers

3.5

5.2

3.9

50.6

-25.3

Live Trees, Plants, Bulbs, Cut Flowers

6.9

3.2

3.5

-54.2

10.2

Animal and Artificial Furs

2.6

2.2

2.3

-16.9

5.4

Cork and Cork Products

17.2

1.9

-89.1

1.5

Tin and Tin Products

2.1

3.8

1.4

78.8

-62.6

Silk Woven Fabrics

0.1

34.8

-18.7

Data provided by WISERTrade, at http://www.wisertrade.org, from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

H O U S TO N G LO B A L T R A D E PA R T N E R S RANKED BY VALUE IN 2017 $ Value (Millions) Rank

Country

Mexico

’15

’16

’17

195,403.2

161,423.7

192,194.4

-17.4

19.1

17,161.7

14,716.9

20,072.3

-14.3

36.4

China

18,420.1

14,719.7

18,762.1

-20.1

27.5

Brazil

10,503.9

10,219.2

12,635.2

-2.7

23.6

Germany

10,041.3

9,297.9

9,649.0

-7.4

3.8

Netherlands

8,279.5

7,683.9

8,601.7

-7.2

11.9

South Korea

6,527.7

5,053.4

6,787.7

-22.6

34.3

Japan

4,892.6

4,648.9

6,438.8

-5.0

38.5

Saudi Arabia

6,280.3

6,299.9

5,665.2

0.3

-10.1

United Kingdom

5,346.1

4,544.1

5,564.5

-15.0

22.5

Colombia

7,088.9

5,009.5

5,103.2

-29.3

1.9

Italy

4,456.3

3,592.5

4,971.2

-19.4

38.4

India

3,910.9

3,322.1

4,850.5

-15.1

46.0

Venezuela

7,969.6

5,536.7

4,841.5

-30.5

-12.6

Belgium

4,780.7

3,871.8

4,163.2

-19.0

7.5

Singapore

2,847.7

2,693.7

3,541.0

-5.4

31.5

Canada

4,681.5

1,132.0

3,271.4

-75.8

189.0

France

3,720.3

2,940.3

3,222.5

-21.0

9.6

Chile

3,318.0

2,601.2

3,220.1

-21.6

23.8

Russia

4,027.1

2,836.0

3,135.9

-29.6

10.6

TOTAL ALL PARTNER COUNTRIES

% Change ’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

Iraq

1,957.6

1,658.1

3,053.9

-15.3

84.2

Peru

2,569.0

2,502.4

3,034.2

-2.6

21.3

Spain

2,192.3

1,914.5

2,812.6

-12.7

46.9

Argentina

2,668.7

2,390.8

2,434.7

-10.4

1.8

United Arab Emirates

3,207.6

2,616.4

2,272.0

-18.4

-13.2

Turkey

2,267.4

1,645.4

2,226.6

-27.4

35.3

Ecuador

3,012.1

1,867.4

2,001.3

-38.0

7.2

Taiwan

1,424.1

1,249.3

1,915.0

-12.3

53.3

Guatemala

1,375.3

1,600.5

1,867.5

16.4

16.7

Nigeria

1,552.3

1,039.8

1,391.7

-33.0

33.9

Panama

1,610.4

909.8

1,368.1

-43.5

50.4

Kuwait

1,944.0

1,522.6

1,325.2

-21.7

-13.0

Costa Rica

1,445.7

1,445.1

1,317.4

0.0

-8.8

Dominican Republic

935.2

1,171.4

1,300.8

25.3

11.1

Australia

1,441.1

924.2

1,166.2

-35.9

26.2

Ireland

988.4

835.4

1,082.0

-15.5

29.5

South Africa

1,032.6

899.2

1,070.9

-12.9

19.1

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

$ Value (Millions) Rank

Country

% Change

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

Honduras

972.8

854.1

1,019.3

-12.2

19.3

Malaysia

884.2

795.5

992.9

-10.0

24.8

Norway

1,501.1

762.9

989.8

-49.2

29.7

Thailand

799.9

825.4

971.6

3.2

17.7

Vietnam

808.3

805.8

943.2

-0.3

17.1

Austria

763.2

687.1

903.0

-10.0

31.4

Egypt

1,327.4

907.4

856.8

-31.6

-5.6

Trinidad And Tobago

1,288.1

911.5

818.1

-29.2

-10.3

Indonesia

820.9

857.4

784.4

4.4

-8.5

Switzerland

875.8

804.2

742.5

-8.2

-7.7

Israel

919.8

730.9

714.5

-20.5

-2.2

Qatar

846.3

678.6

639.2

-19.8

-5.8

Slovakia

449.6

494.0

618.1

9.9

25.1

Czech Republic

352.9

342.5

575.7

-2.9

68.1

Angola

1,173.5

1,171.9

497.9

-0.1

-57.5

Denmark

542.3

290.9

483.1

-46.4

66.1

Sweden

651.1

493.2

479.5

-24.3

-2.8

El Salvador

354.6

499.2

479.4

40.8

-4.0

Oman

578.3

438.1

463.0

-24.2

5.7

Bahamas

503.1

269.4

451.6

-46.5

67.6

Hong Kong

297.7

366.9

448.9

23.2

22.4

Morocco

409.0

345.9

447.1

-15.4

29.3

Pakistan

333.2

429.5

413.5

28.9

-3.7

Bahrain

379.6

287.5

404.5

-24.3

40.7

Algeria

1,282.1

677.3

403.3

-47.2

-40.5

Poland

358.6

340.9

401.3

-4.9

17.7

Romania

523.1

232.7

380.0

-55.5

63.3

Jamaica

168.4

247.8

374.4

47.1

51.1

Nicaragua

260.9

337.3

350.5

29.3

3.9

Hungary

475.3

415.9

345.1

-12.5

-17.0

Finland

286.6

329.3

340.9

14.9

3.5

Ghana

369.3

342.6

308.0

-7.2

-10.1

Lebanon

302.8

365.8

290.0

20.8

-20.7

Equatorial Guinea

172.1

287.6

288.9

67.1

0.4

Aruba

631.4

330.2

263.4

-47.7

-20.3

Portugal

227.5

201.7

241.6

-11.4

19.8

Azerbaijan

189.0

129.3

235.7

-31.6

82.3

Philippines

289.8

223.8

218.0

-22.8

-2.6

Uruguay

262.4

133.5

214.9

-49.1

61.0

Ivory Coast

130.8

110.3

210.4

-15.7

90.7

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

$ Value (Millions)

% Change

Rank

Country

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

Ukraine

147.8

114.6

210.3

-22.4

83.5

Kazakhstan

332.3

428.1

197.6

28.8

-53.8

Kenya

189.0

140.7

187.1

-25.5

32.9

Togo

200.4

90.5

183.1

-54.9

102.4

New Zealand

276.1

205.7

182.0

-25.5

-11.5

Jordan

119.3

164.8

168.7

38.1

2.4

Chad

44.8

10.1

167.0

-77.3

Cayman Islands

24.7

36.2

164.1

46.6

353.3

Tunisia

151.6

82.8

135.1

-45.3

63.1

Gibraltar

216.4

133.3

123.7

-38.4

-7.2

Greece

217.7

148.0

123.0

-32.0

-16.9

Suriname

175.0

111.0

117.2

-36.6

5.7

Paraguay

61.9

123.1

116.1

98.8

-5.7

Haiti

90.6

92.6

115.5

2.2

24.7

Lithuania

45.3

61.7

114.4

36.2

85.5

Bangladesh

109.9

100.9

111.3

-8.1

10.3

Ethiopia

93.0

138.2

108.9

48.6

-21.2

Slovenia

Gabon

84.8

97.5

102.1

15.0

4.7

127.3

58.7

98.9

-53.9

68.3

Guyana

59.2

93.9

97.5

58.7

3.8

Curacao

97.0

182.5

85.7

88.1

-53.1

Luxembourg

102.3

94.8

84.5

-7.3

-10.9

Congo, Republic Of The Congo

130.9

79.4

83.3

-39.4

4.9

100

Belize

40.2

31.7

77.4

-21.1

144.2

101

Liberia

24.9

36.0

76.8

44.8

113.3

102

Georgia

58.3

46.4

76.6

-20.3

65.1

103

Cameroon

154.3

133.5

76.6

-13.5

-42.6

104

Dominica

3.8

1.0

76.4

-74.6

105

St. Lucia

101.5

25.3

76.2

-75.1

201.8

106

Estonia

67.3

127.0

69.5

88.7

-45.3

107

Mozambique

65.3

69.3

65.8

6.2

-5.1

108

Cambodia

79.0

47.3

65.3

-40.2

38.1

109

Bolivia

177.6

104.0

64.7

-41.5

-37.8

110

Senegal

39.7

41.0

62.6

3.3

52.6

111

Bulgaria

42.2

35.5

62.1

-15.8

74.9

112

Sri Lanka

61.4

58.1

62.1

-5.5

6.9

113

Serbia

33.7

32.8

61.9

-2.6

88.6

114

Libya

68.4

47.4

59.7

-30.7

26.0

115

Benin

85.5

46.2

58.9

-46.0

27.4

116

Mauritania

52.8

47.0

56.8

-11.1

20.9

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

$ Value (Millions) Rank

Country

117

Malta

118

% Change

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

162.5

66.5

47.8

-59.1

-28.3

Tanzania

58.3

68.9

46.8

18.1

-32.1

119

Latvia

40.4

51.4

44.2

27.1

-14.0

120

Djibouti

52.0

44.7

43.7

-14.0

-2.3

121

Sudan (Starting 2011)

42.0

34.3

40.4

-18.2

17.6

122

Republic Of Yemen

12.9

39.6

39.5

206.3

-0.4

123

Namibia

51.7

28.6

35.1

-44.6

22.7

124

Belarus

41.2

7.7

32.8

-81.4

328.3

125

Madagascar

35.2

20.3

32.6

-42.2

60.6

126

Congo, Democratic Republic Of The Congo

38.2

52.9

28.8

38.8

-45.5

127

Mauritius

36.0

25.3

27.8

-29.8

10.0

128

Somalia

10.8

14.3

26.6

32.0

85.7

129

Iceland

42.9

135.0

26.5

215.0

-80.4

130

Lesotho

0.0

8.5

24.3

187.2

131

Zambia

10.4

11.6

19.2

11.4

65.7

132

Croatia

26.6

34.5

16.2

30.0

-53.2

133

Liechtenstein

15.1

15.4

16.1

2.4

4.4

134

Uganda

9.1

8.7

15.3

-4.1

76.3

135

Burma (Myanmar)

5.5

14.2

15.3

156.8

7.2

136

Brunei

13.3

12.6

14.3

-5.3

13.0

137

Cyprus

13.3

36.7

11.8

175.4

-67.8

138

Barbados

45.0

15.3

11.8

-66.1

-23.1

139

Albania

9.2

14.1

11.6

53.9

-18.0

140

Guinea

110.7

10.6

11.3

-90.4

6.6

141

Bosnia And Herzegovina

4.0

5.2

11.3

29.5

119.3

142

Macedonia

4.4

7.4

10.3

69.9

39.0

143

Burkina Faso

7.0

8.9

10.2

27.5

13.7

144

Mali

11.6

13.3

9.9

14.0

-25.2

145

Turkmenistan

55.3

13.7

9.0

-75.2

-34.3

146

Niger

5.3

6.2

7.8

15.9

26.2

147

Sierra Leone

8.0

9.0

7.8

12.4

-13.7

148

Papua New Guinea

43.0

7.0

6.7

-83.7

-4.6

149

Antigua And Barbuda

270.0

3.2

6.1

-98.8

88.1

150

Afghanistan

15.8

28.5

5.9

80.3

-79.5

151

Kyrgyzstan

11.1

9.4

5.8

-15.6

-38.4

152

Burundi

2.2

1.6

5.7

-28.3

260.7

153

Malawi

8.2

15.4

5.6

88.3

-63.9

154

Iran

7.6

5.4

5.3

-28.7

-1.9

155

Nepal

3.0

2.4

5.1

-18.8

114.0

156

French Guiana

4.7

1.1

5.0

-76.8

351.1

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

$ Value (Millions)

% Change

Rank

Country

’15

’16

’17

’15 - ’16

’16 - ’17

157

Armenia

10.9

5.9

4.6

-45.7

-22.7

158

Zimbabwe

6.8

9.1

4.5

34.7

-50.2

159

Guadeloupe

3.1

3.7

4.5

20.1

21.4

160

Faroe Islands

7.1

5.7

4.1

-19.9

-27.8

161

New Caledonia

2.2

1.4

3.6

-33.9

147.5

162

Moldova

3.8

1.3

3.5

-64.8

163.6

163

South Sudan

6.8

2.9

3.4

-57.8

17.1

164

Gambia

3.9

6.1

3.1

57.6

-49.1

165

Mongolia

6.7

0.4

2.9

-94.0

611.6

166

Martinique

41.7

22.7

2.4

-45.7

-89.2

167

Laos

3.0

3.3

2.1

9.6

-36.6

168

Swaziland

2.1

1.8

2.0

-15.9

9.9

169

British Virgin Islands

0.9

24.1

1.7

-92.9

170

Uzbekistan

5.5

2.8

1.7

-49.4

-39.9

171

Guinea-Bissau

0.1

1.4

1.6

971.3

14.0

172

Maldives

0.8

1.6

-5.3

106.8

173

Sint Maarten

1.7

2.3

1.6

33.9

-32.8

174

Bermuda

2.3

0.0

1.6

-99.4

175

Eritrea

0.4

0.3

1.5

-6.4

325.8

176

Macau

1.9

1.4

1.5

-24.5

4.7

177

Rwanda

1.5

2.6

1.4

74.6

-45.0

178

Anguilla

0.3

0.1

1.3

-55.5

950.8

179

Monaco

2.1

1.9

1.2

-7.4

-39.1

180

Marshall Islands

16.8

2.4

1.1

-86.0

-53.7

181

French Polynesia

1.5

0.3

1.0

-79.0

219.1

Data provided by WISERTrade, at http://www.wisertrade.org, from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division Note: Countries not listed had less than $1.0 million in trade with the Houston-Galveston Customs District in 2017.

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

XX HOUSTON’S #X TRADE PARTNER IN 2017 The Houston-Galveston Customs District is the busiest gateway for U.S.-Netherlands trade (by value), and the Netherlands is Houston’s fifth largest international trade partner. From ’08 to ’17, trade between Houston and the Netherlands averaged $8.4 billion annually and was valued at $8.6 billion in ’17. More than 1,800 people living in the Houston metro were born in the Netherlands.

Publication underwritten by:

HOUSTON’S BUSINESS TIES • Lorem Ipsum • "Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."

• "There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."

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• Sed vitae metus et lectus tempus imperdiet. • Integer pretium metus ut laoreet auctor. • Donec aliquam enim in scelerisque mattis.

AIR CARGO TRADE • Nunc fermentum turpis vel nibh bibendum, eget ultrices mi mollis.

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ac neque interdum ac ante.

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• Vivamus non nisi vel libero blandit scelerisque sed nec metus.

TRADE Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur ac elit in turpis fringilla porttitor in in ante. Phasellus a fermentum purus. Duis faucibus, nisl non faucibus gravida, massa turpis euismod ipsum, vitae placerat ipsum velit ac sem. Phasellus a ligula ullamcorper, viverra dolor id, faucibus massa. Praesent in mi et est semper sollicitudin. Pellentesque nulla augue, ullamcorper

Greater Houston Partnership Research | May 2018

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Global Houston 2018

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Global Risk: Trade Wars