Texas ports are a crucial part of the Lone Star State's economic success but their difficulty to fund regularly needed improvements and upgrades place them at risk of falling behind.
Texas’ economic success would not be possible without its maritime ports.
In 2020, Texas ports generated more than $308 billion in annual overall trade ($207 billion in exports and $101 billion in imports). Eleven Texas ports ranked among the top 100 U.S. ports in total tonnage, six were in the top 20, and three were among the 5 fastest growing U.S ports in terms of absolute export revenue.
In 2022, Texas ranked first in the nation for U.S. waterborne traffic with more than 651 million short tons handled (149 million domestic and 502 million foreign). Port Houston ranked first with nearly 294 million short tons handled (over 84 million domestic and 209 million foreign).
According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), “Texas ports move more cargo than any other state...Texas ports also moved nearly three million containers and served nearly 500,000 cruise passengers, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."
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