Source: http://worldcityweb.com/home/HOU/statistics/view/97/

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.

Recent Reports

Annual Statistics: Houston moves up to No. 4 ranked Customs district (02/13/2007)

Houston likely to be No. 4 Customs district for 2006 (01/25/2007)

Houston exports see notable increase in third quarter (12/11/2006)

Semi-annual report: Houston growth at faster clip than most (09/08/2006)

Here comes China! Imports rise 85%, catapault it to No. 3 overall (07/07/2006)

Annual Report: No. 21 Angola- Mutual benefits (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 20 Japan- Houston woos and wins Japan (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: N0. 19 Norway- Symbiotic relationship (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 18 Kuwait- Embracing Mideast opportunities (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 2 Venezuela - Beyond the politicians (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 17 Italy- From leather to nuts (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 16 France- Outpaced by oil-rich nations (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 3 Nigeria - Oil lubricates market (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 15 Colombia- Coffee perks up trade (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 14 Belgium- Scoring with petrochemicals (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No.13 Russia- Imports, exports, up double digits (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 4 China - Trade skyrockets (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 12 South Korea- Fine-tuning a trade balance (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 11 Iraq- Rebuilding Iraq thanks to oil (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 5 United Kingdom - Setting a fast pace in trade (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 10 Algeria- Algeria ties its fortunes to oil (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 6 Germany - Cars add to spark-fired trade (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 9 The Netherlands- Getting a line to Europe (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 7 Saudi Arabia (07/06/2006)

Annual Report: No. 8 Brazil- New U.S. gateway for Brazil (06/14/2006)

1Q: China, Algeria, Colombia lead way as trade increases 14% (06/02/2006)

Houston is the nation's fastest growing Customs district for 2005, with a 30 percent gain in total import and export value (03/15/2006)

Houston's trade surges
No surprise - it's all about the price of oil (01/01/2006)