WorldCity, Here comes China! Imports rise 85%, catapault it to No. 3 overall | Connecting Local Business Leaders To The Global Economy

Here comes China! Imports rise 85%, catapault it to No. 3 overall

July 7th, 2006

China’s trade with Houston is up a solid 64 percent through the first four months of the year, lifting it from Houston’s No. 8-ranked trade partner to No. 3, according to WorldCity analysis of the most recent U.S. Census data.

Jan.-April 2006	Jan.-April 2005	Total Trade	Jan.-April 2006	Jan.-April 2005	Dollar change	Percent change
		World Total	$47,225,171,126	$40,252,325,827	$6,972,845,299	17.32%
1	1	Mexico	$5,976,280,401	$4,515,016,269	$1,461,264,132	32.36%
2	2	Venezuela	$4,915,068,453	$3,706,534,428	$1,208,534,025	32.61%
3	8	China	$2,277,549,022	$1,391,342,962	$886,206,060	63.69%
4	3	Nigeria	$2,247,298,010	$1,972,260,264	$275,037,746	13.95%
5	4	Germany	$1,974,214,731	$1,774,004,295	$200,210,436	11.29%
6	6	United Kingdom	$1,689,825,515	$1,447,672,463	$242,153,052	16.73%
7	7	Brazil	$1,655,894,967	$1,406,374,231	$249,520,736	17.74%
8	9	Netherlands	$1,562,864,612	$1,262,200,523	$300,664,089	23.82%
9	10	Algeria	$1,543,241,517	$1,062,429,656	$480,811,861	45.26%
10	5	Saudi Arabia	$1,488,845,030	$1,689,463,287	$(200,618,257)	-11.87%
11	13	Belgium	$981,050,888	$949,841,356	$31,209,532	3.29%
12	18	Colombia	$978,730,084	$731,683,308	$247,046,776	33.76%
13	15	Italy	$941,247,870	$822,490,130	$118,757,740	14.44%
14	12	Iraq	$939,662,108	$972,565,200	$(32,903,092)	-3.38%
15	16	France	$931,946,939	$763,027,846	$168,919,093	22.14%
16	14	Russia	$927,810,280	$934,814,608	$(7,004,328)	-0.75%
17	11	South Korea	$870,260,769	$1,033,749,002	$(163,488,233)	-15.82%
18	17	Japan	$775,805,840	$740,660,019	$35,145,821	4.75%
19	20	Norway	$681,123,425	$624,075,888	$57,047,537	9.14%
20	21	Angola	$677,664,572	$614,080,833	$63,583,739	10.35%
21	19	Chile	$667,088,802	$725,264,029	$(58,175,227)	-8.02%
22	24	Trinidad and Tobago	$618,005,665	$542,143,268	$75,862,397	13.99%
23	28	India	$536,372,880	$430,871,698	$105,501,182	24.49%
24	29	Spain	$506,169,406	$418,308,742	$87,860,664	21.00%
25	23	Kuwait	$505,577,977	$568,657,249	$(63,079,272)	-11.09%

Mexico and Venezuela remain the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked trade partners, and both registered trade gains in excess of 32 percent through the same period. Overall, Houston’s trade grew at a 17 percent clip, from $40.2 billion to $47.2 billion.

China’s imports into Houston increased more than 85 percent, from $956 million to almost $1.8 billion.

Although China’s trade deficit with Houston is large and growing, it remains lower than that of the oil-supplying nations of Venezuela, Mexico, Nigeria and Algeria, respectively.

Houston’s trade deficit through the first four months is $13.8 billion, an increase of almost 40 percent. Take out Houston’s oil imports and the nation’s sixth-ranked Customs district is suddenly in surplus. Through the first four months of the year, Houston’s imports of oil increased in value from $12.8 billion in 2005 to $15.4 billion this year.

Despite, Houston’s overall deficit, it enjoys a trade surplus with 121 of the world’s nations, or roughly half of those with which the United States trades from the Netherlands’ $709 million all the way down to the $7,761 surplus with Bosnia-Hercegovina.

Jan.-April 2006	Jan.-April 2006	Surplus	Jan.-April 2006	Jan.-April 2006	Dollar change	Percent change
1	1	Netherlands	$708,527,764	$550,531,887	$157,995,877	28.70%
2	2	Belgium	$574,396,546	$524,217,192	$50,179,354	9.57%
3	4	Singapore	$299,847,665	$271,551,280	$28,296,385	10.42%
4	5	United Arab Emirates	$290,166,750	$269,350,898	$20,815,852	7.73%
5	9	Panama	$197,856,700	$133,515,107	$64,341,593	48.19%
6	21	Egypt	$189,558,511	$39,046,170	$150,512,341	385.47%
7	51	Peru	$150,009,614	$7,135,434	$142,874,180	2002.32%
8	10	Honduras	$116,579,080	$128,515,824	($11,936,744)	-9.29%
9	202	Guatemala	$103,521,436	($10,111,590)	$113,633,026	-1123.79%
10	32	Argentina	$97,054,678	$22,908,000	$74,146,678	323.67%
11	17	Bahamas	$74,487,518	$50,624,738	$23,862,780	47.14%
12	23	Netherlands Antilles	$64,969,922	$33,232,870	$31,737,052	95.50%
13	13	Israel	$48,915,536	$71,326,756	($22,411,220)	-31.42%
14	15	Costa Rica	$47,553,058	$66,156,920	($18,603,862)	-28.12%
15	16	Jamaica	$46,600,428	$64,514,053	($17,913,625)	-27.77%
16	14	Australia	$44,476,397	$70,545,904	($26,069,507)	-36.95%
17	25	Oman	$42,856,578	$27,849,285	$15,007,293	53.89%
18	218	Ecuador	$42,840,088	($50,361,537)	$93,201,625	-185.07%
19	33	Suriname	$40,360,491	$21,553,434	$18,807,057	87.26%
20	35	Azerbaijan	$37,680,428	$19,691,978	$17,988,450	91.35%
21	29	Ghana	$37,664,617	$25,633,861	$12,030,756	46.93%
22	28	El Salvador	$32,162,406	$26,053,934	$6,108,472	23.45%
23	22	Pakistan	$30,798,760	$33,499,782	($2,701,022)	-8.06%
24	36	Bermuda	$29,677,781	$18,652,847	$11,024,934	59.11%
25	42	Lebanon	$28,942,829	$12,884,921	$16,057,908	124.63%
26	30	Dominican Republic	$27,539,270	$25,514,562	$2,024,708	7.94%
27	24	Hong Kong	$24,700,572	$28,497,992	($3,797,420)	-13.33%
28	20	Qatar	$24,660,915	$40,482,100	($15,821,185)	-39.08%
29	232	Gabon	$20,331,936	($164,095,024)	$184,426,960	-112.39%
30	45	Kenya	$20,309,151	$11,686,388	$8,622,763	73.78%
31	38	Iceland	$20,148,745	$17,460,693	$2,688,052	15.39%
32	41	Republic of Yemen	$20,138,118	$14,996,651	$5,141,467	34.28%
33	44	Cuba	$19,619,697	$11,816,840	$7,802,857	66.03%
34	46	Jordan	$19,466,061	$11,556,662	$7,909,399	68.44%
35	210	Indonesia	$18,649,112	($21,895,301)	$40,544,413	-185.17%
36	48	Bolivia	$14,312,638	$8,839,198	$5,473,440	61.92%
37	37	Belize	$14,103,541	$18,162,602	($4,059,061)	-22.35%
38	47	Georgia	$13,731,880	$10,103,648	$3,628,232	35.91%
39	27	Haiti	$13,175,284	$26,522,704	($13,347,420)	-50.32%
40	183	Kazakhstan	$12,762,323	($339,627)	$13,101,950	-3857.75%
41	43	Chad	$11,821,565	$12,512,411	($690,846)	-5.52%
42	56	Tanzania	$10,093,573	$4,600,439	$5,493,134	119.40%
43	176	Zimbabwe	$10,090,431	($75,161)	$10,165,592	-13525.09%
44	59	Uganda	$9,180,785	$4,274,084	$4,906,701	114.80%
45	182	Morocco	$9,166,124	($284,077)	$9,450,201	-3326.63%
46	3	Chile	$9,057,972	$387,493,923	($378,435,951)	-97.66%
47	70	Cayman Islands	$8,935,761	$2,161,113	$6,774,648	313.48%
48	55	Afghanistan	$8,134,892	$4,615,796	$3,519,096	76.24%
49	82	Zambia	$7,754,400	$1,245,413	$6,508,987	522.64%
50	76	Mozambique	$7,360,586	$1,602,029	$5,758,557	359.45%
51	83	Somalia	$7,020,466	$1,111,765	$5,908,701	531.47%
52	217	Syria	$6,844,235	($48,920,819)	$55,765,054	-113.99%
53	52	Congo (Kinshasa)	$6,559,115	$5,662,936	$896,179	15.83%
54	67	Sudan	$6,037,408	$2,453,569	$3,583,839	146.07%
55	34	Ethiopia	$5,926,150	$20,731,627	($14,805,477)	-71.41%
56	91	Malawi	$5,653,343	$822,859	$4,830,484	587.04%
57	74	Central African Republic	$5,310,885	$2,026,359	$3,284,526	162.09%
58	78	Madagascar	$5,059,105	$1,492,695	$3,566,410	238.92%
59	50	Lithuania	$5,031,432	$8,087,415	($3,055,983)	-37.79%
60	61	Burkina	$4,596,630	$3,399,077	$1,197,553	35.23%
61	57	Senegal	$4,578,296	$4,506,402	$71,894	1.60%
62	99	Namibia	$4,082,791	$350,674	$3,732,117	1064.27%
63	60	Niger	$4,080,018	$3,598,241	$481,777	13.39%
64	72	Benin	$3,449,376	$2,143,061	$1,306,315	60.96%
65	66	Paraguay	$3,368,261	$2,495,381	$872,880	34.98%
66	193	Turkmenistan	$3,364,731	($5,726,862)	$9,091,593	-158.75%
67	69	Sierra Leone	$3,264,840	$2,378,609	$886,231	37.26%
68	62	Armenia	$2,871,524	$3,271,655	($400,131)	-12.23%
69	79	Rwanda	$2,816,321	$1,390,166	$1,426,155	102.59%
70	58	Liberia	$2,775,755	$4,298,856	($1,523,101)	-35.43%
71	77	Barbados	$2,744,660	$1,581,038	$1,163,622	73.60%
72	186	Croatia	$2,658,214	($530,209)	$3,188,423	-601.35%
73	86	Tajikistan	$2,605,622	$963,873	$1,641,749	170.33%
74	40	Malta	$2,280,253	$15,498,620	($13,218,367)	-85.29%
75	39	Mauritania	$2,221,188	$17,335,626	($15,114,438)	-87.19%
76	12	Gibraltar	$2,130,452	$94,666,149	($92,535,697)	-97.75%
77	63	Moldova	$2,097,146	$3,099,164	($1,002,018)	-32.33%
78	68	Togo	$1,855,019	$2,441,339	($586,320)	-24.02%
79	102	Swaziland	$1,650,849	$306,676	$1,344,173	438.30%
80	71	Papua New Guinea	$1,595,988	$2,157,728	($561,740)	-26.03%
81	95	Mali	$1,594,448	$590,080	$1,004,368	170.21%
82	65	Djibouti	$1,556,942	$2,807,765	($1,250,823)	-44.55%
83	118	Guinea-Bissau	$1,441,366	$12,340	$1,429,026	11580.44%
84	110	Tokelau	$1,363,178	$73,118	$1,290,060	1764.35%
85	80	Burundi	$1,362,682	$1,378,138	($15,456)	-1.12%
86	101	Kyrgyzstan	$1,342,261	$336,871	$1,005,390	298.45%
87	64	Slovenia	$1,330,256	$3,077,348	($1,747,092)	-56.77%
88	26	Cameroon	$1,231,262	$27,519,072	($26,287,810)	-95.53%
89	93	Cyprus	$1,152,661	$771,033	$381,628	49.50%
90	107	Gambia	$1,000,737	$137,725	$863,012	626.62%
91	127	Mongolia	$977,002	$-	$977,002	NA
92	209	Uzbekistan	$910,815	($19,259,581)	$20,170,396	-104.73%
93	138	Laos	$667,896	$-	$667,896	NA
94	73	Cape Verde	$659,700	$2,048,256	($1,388,556)	-67.79%
95	139	Vanuatu	$569,629	$-	$569,629	NA
96	114	Martinique	$513,034	$42,365	$470,669	1110.99%
97	97	Antigua and Barbuda	$481,350	$459,484	$21,866	4.76%
98	106	Lesotho	$451,090	$143,140	$307,950	215.14%
99	94	Brunei	$450,780	$729,357	($278,577)	-38.19%
100	100	Guadeloupe	$321,143	$350,077	($28,934)	-8.27%
101	126	French Polynesia	$258,486	$-	$258,486	NA
102	115	Palau	$241,529	$40,144	$201,385	501.66%
103	173	New Caledonia	$223,757	($25,588)	$249,345	-974.46%
104	96	Reunion	$177,198	$470,797	($293,599)	-62.36%
105	105	St Vincent and the Grenadines	$138,079	$161,912	($23,833)	-14.72%
106	133	Marshall Islands	$138,000	$-	$138,000	NA
107	108	Maldives	$124,351	$127,856	($3,505)	-2.74%
108	49	Eritrea	$114,217	$8,801,479	($8,687,262)	-98.70%
109	90	Dominica	$95,204	$868,401	($773,197)	-89.04%
110	111	Grenada	$93,590	$64,304	$29,286	45.54%
111	84	Botswana	$46,558	$1,079,905	($1,033,347)	-95.69%
112	140	Falkland Islands	$42,355	$-	$42,355	NA
113	104	St Kitts and Nevis	$40,918	$195,798	($154,880)	-79.10%
114	92	Vatican City	$38,752	$771,818	($733,066)	-94.98%
115	130	Seychelles	$28,416	$-	$28,416	NA
116	112	Burma (Myanmar)	$25,880	$57,617	($31,737)	-55.08%
117	117	Norfolk Island	$24,975	$32,704	($7,729)	-23.63%
118	134	Turks and Caicos Islands	$24,170	$-	$24,170	NA
119	123	Faroe Islands	$10,000	$-	$10,000	NA
120	125	Sao Tome and Principe	$9,065	$-	$9,065	NA
121	179	Bosnia-Hercegovina	$7,761	($117,603)	$125,364	-106.60%

Rotterdam in the Netherlands is an enormous transshipment port for Europe; consequently, it is a leading net importer for many Customs districts and the United States as a whole.

The Bosnia-Hercegovina story is a little different. The small Central European nation once a part of Yugoslavia has seen its Houston trade almost totally evaporate this year, leaving only $7,761 in Houston exports of plastics and machinery.

There were no imports through the first four months of this year, compared to almost $487,000 in the same period a year ago. On the export side of the ledger, Houston sent more than $300,000 in cars and machine parts there in the first four months of 2005.

Overall, Houston’s exports rose $1.5 billion or slightly more than 10 percent while its imports increased almost 22 percent, at $5.4 billion.

Jan.-April 2006	Jan.-April 2005	Exports	Jan.-April 2006	Jan.-April 2005	Dollar Change	Percent change
		World Total	$16,725,816,822	$15,198,167,292	$1,527,649,530	10.05%
1	1	Mexico	$1,820,947,517	$1,365,248,620	$455,698,897	33.38%
2	2	Netherlands	$1,135,696,188	$906,366,205	$229,329,983	25.30%
3	5	Brazil	$799,583,865	$671,363,837	$128,220,028	19.10%
4	3	Belgium	$777,723,717	$737,029,274	$40,694,443	5.52%
5	4	United Kingdom	$756,902,371	$690,520,597	$66,381,774	9.61%
6	9	Venezuela	$676,084,333	$463,300,203	$212,784,130	45.93%
7	8	Germany	$570,882,284	$486,407,589	$84,474,695	17.37%
8	11	China	$504,922,547	$435,254,953	$69,667,594	16.01%
9	12	Colombia	$458,031,745	$430,080,077	$27,951,668	6.50%
10	13	France	$457,235,119	$393,389,707	$63,845,412	16.23%
11	6	South Korea	$434,181,767	$618,346,922	$(184,165,155)	-29.78%
12	15	Saudi Arabia	$374,477,889	$320,778,556	$53,699,333	16.74%
13	16	Singapore	$360,781,847	$318,542,619	$42,239,228	13.26%
14	7	Chile	$338,073,387	$556,378,976	$(218,305,589)	-39.24%
15	23	Nigeria	$331,449,252	$236,901,498	$94,547,754	39.91%

Crude oil continues to account for about 50 percent of Houston’s imports $15.4 billion of $30.5 billion. Among the top imports, only tractors showed a decline in the first four months of the year, dropping a slight 4.1 percent.