Nicknamed “The Lone Star State” and located in America’s South Central region, Texas shipped US$485.6 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2022.

That dollar amount results from a 29% year-over-year surge over $376.3 billion in 2021.

Compared to $328.6 billion three years earlier in 2019, international sales of Texan exported products rose 47.8% to the total shown above for 2022.

Texas is America’s number one exporter by state ahead of California, New York and Washington. The value of exports shipped from Texas equals 23.5% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2022, up from 21.5% in 2021.

Texan exports represent 20.2% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2022 ($2.4 trillion) up from 18.96% one year earlier.

The most valuable products shipped from Texas are immunological products in doses packaged for crude oil, refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel, and light petroleum oils also excluding biodiesel. Collectively, those major commodities generated 38.8% of total Texan export revenues during 2022..

Given the population of 29.8 million Texans in 2022, the total $485.6 billion in 2022 Texan exports translates to roughly $16,300 for every resident in the Lone Star State. That per-capita metric significantly exceeds the average $12,700 one year earlier during 2021.

Per YCharts, the unemployment rate for Texas was 3.9% at January 31, 2023 down from the state’s 4.3% jobless percentage one year earlier.

Texas’ Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Texas global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Texas.

Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.

1. Crude petroleum oils: US$107.8 billion (22.2% of total Texan exports)
2. Refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $42.2 billion (8.7%)
3. Light petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $38.6 billion (7.9%)
4. Liquified propane: $22.1 billion (4.6%)
5. Natural gas (liquid): $12 billion (2.5%)
6. Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $11.5 billion (2.4%)
7. Natural gas (gaseous state): $10.8 billion (2.2%)
8. Computer parts and accessories: $8.9 billion (1.8%)
9. Civilian aircraft including engines, parts: $8.8 billion (1.8%)
10. Machinery for making semi-conductor devices: $6.5 billion (1.3%)

The top 10 exports from Texas accounted for over half (55.4%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.

Refined petroleum oils represents the fastest grower among the top 10 Texan export categories by dollar value, up by 76.1% from 2021 to 2022. In second place for improving export sales was crude oil (up 72.6%). Third-fastest was the 31% gain for light oil preparations excluding biodiesel exported from Texas, ahead of the 20.3% improvement in international sales for civilian aircraft and 19% for exported liquid propane.

The mildest year-over-year advances among Texas’ top 10 export products belong to machinery for making semi-conductor devices (up 1.6%), processors and controllers used in electronic integrated circuits (up 2.3%), then natural gas in gaseous state (4%).

Key Facts About Texan International Trade

Overall, Texas generated a $101.2 billion surplus exporting and importing products during 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 58.4% year-over-year expansion from $63.9 billion in black ink one year earlier for 2021.

Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Products imported into Texas totaled $384.4 billion during 2022.

Below are the top 10 products imported by Texas, highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2022.

1. Crude petroleum oils: US$37.1 billion (9.7% of total Texan imports)
2. Digital processing units (individual components): $25.5 billion (6.6%)
3. Refined petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: $13.9 billion (3.6%)
4. Smartphones: $13.1 billion (3.4%)
5. Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $11.9 billion (3.1%)
6. Integrated circuits (processors/controllers): $7.8 billion (2%)
7. Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $7.7 billion (2%)
8. Trucks: $6 billion (1.6%)
9. Insulated wirings (vehicles, ships, aircraft): $5.7 billion (1.5%)
10. Computer parts, accessories: $4.4 billion (1.2%)

As for trade balances by product, Texas has highly positive net exports in the international trade of petroleum oils and similar energy products. These positive cashflows indicate comparative competitive advantages for Texas under these product categories showing the impact of foreign goods on the state’s global balance sheet.

Most Valuable Trade Partners for Texas

The following list shows the top 10 customers that bought two-thirds (66.5%) worth of the total value of products exported from Texas during 2022.

1. Mexico: US$144.2 billion (29.7% of total Texan exports)
2. Canada: $38.2 billion (7.9%)
3. China: $22 billion (4.5%)
4. South Korea: $21.7 billion (4.5%)
5. Netherlands: $19.9 billion (4.1%)
6. Brazil: $16.5 billion (3.4%)
7. United Kingdom: $16.4 billion (3.4%)
8. Singapore: $15.5 billion (3.2%)
9. Japan: $15.1 billion (3.1%)
10. India: $13.6 billion (2.8%)

The top customers for Texan exports located in North America (Mexico, Canada) represent almost two-fifths (37.6%) of the overall value of goods shipped from the Lone Star State during 2022.

Products from Texas exported to leading customers in Asia (mainland China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, India) amounted to another 18.1% of overall Texan export sales.

Texas Export Companies

Fifty-one of Texas-headquartered corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Selected examples are listed below.

• AT&T Inc (telecommunications)
• ConocoPhillips (oil, gas)
• Dell (computers)
• Energy Transfer Equity (oil, gas)
• Exxon Mobil (oil, gas)
• National Oilwell Varco (oilfield equipment)
• Phillips 66 (oil refining)
• Sysco Corp (food products)
• Tesoro Corp (refined oils)
• Valero Energy (oil, gas)

Shown within brackets for each company above is a summary of the international trade-related product category in which each business deals.
 

The capital city for Texas is Austin, nicknamed the “Live Music Capital of the World”.

See also America’s Top 20 Export States, United States Top 10 Exports and Top United States Trade Balances

Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on March 14, 2023

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 14, 2023

Houston Chronicle, Texas’ biggest companies, according to Forbes, by Fernando Ramirez. Accessed on March 14, 2023

IBIS World, State Economic Profile (including GDP). Accessed on March 14, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 14, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 14, 2023

Office of the Texas Governor, The Largest Companies Headquartered in Texas. Accessed on March 14, 2023

United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade (State by 6-Digit HS Code). Accessed on March 14, 2023

United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Texas. Accessed on March 14, 2023

USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on March 14, 2023

Wikipedia, Economy of Texas. Accessed on March 14, 2023

Wikipedia, Texas. Accessed on March 14, 2023

Wikipedia, List of Texas Companies. Accessed on March 14, 2023

World’s Capital Cities, Capital Facts for Austin, United States. Accessed on March 14, 2023

YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on March 14, 2023