El Paso: 22nd largest export market in U.S.

EL PASO – The amount of goods exported from El Paso businesses to Mexico and other countries to reached $14.4 billion in 2013, a 12 percent increase from 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

In 2013, El Paso County was the 22nd largest exporter among the nation’s metro areas — up from 26th for 2012 exports. The numbers show the importance of El Paso and Juarez manufacturing sectors, said Robert Queen, director of the Commerce Department’s Export Assistance Center in El Paso.

Almost 80 percent of El Paso’s merchandise exports, or $11.4 billion worth, went to Mexico in 2013. Many of those exports are materials sent to Juarez plants where many products are assembled.

Computer and electronic products were the largest class of goods exported, accounting for 28 percent, or $4 billion, of El Paso’s total exports.

However, some of the merchandise exported comes from other areas and is consolidated at warehouses and distribution centers, which shows the importance of logistics in El Paso.

In El Paso, more than 68,000 jobs are supported by the exports’ business, and more than 1,800 companies exported goods from El Paso in 2011, the latest federal data available.

Additionally, exports from the Las Cruces and Santa Teresa areas decreased 56 percent in 2013 to $491.2 million.

The Houston area’s $115 billion in goods’ exports were the largest among metro areas. Petroleum products accounted for 31 percent, or $35.3 billion of Houston’s exports.

The nation’s 387 metro areas exported $1.4 trillion in goods in 2013, up $43 billion in 2013, or an increase of 3.1 percent. U.S. goods’ exports last year supported 7.1 million jobs in 2013.