Page 16 - NBIZ June2021

0 The Houston Airport System (HAS) handled fewer than does not include the dozens of smaller, private companies
250,000 passengers in April 2020. That compares to that silently let their workers go. Last year, the energy in-
4.9 million passengers the same month the year before. dustry shed 40,000 workers, one in six jobs in the industry.
(Note: This includes jobs in exploration and production, oil
0 The City of Houston sales tax collections for March and field services, oil field equipment manufacturing, fabricated
April 2020 fell 13.5 percent compared to the same two metal products, and engineering services.) Energy em-
months in 2019. ployment today stands at its lowest point since 2006, when
Houston’s GDP was only two-thirds of today’s level, and the
0 Local auto dealers sold only 30,000 vehicles in the first region had 500,000 fewer jobs.
three months of the pandemic compared to 50,000 in Even with the pandemic raging, Houston led the nation
March, April, and May of the year prior. in exports last year, something it has done for eight of the
past ten years. Though the region’s exports fell, Houston
0 Office leasing activity fell 54 percent, industrial leasing still outranked New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
activity 52 percent in Quarter 2 of 2020 compared to
the same quarter in 2019.
Leading U.S. Expor ng Metros
As the global economy shut down to control the spread Exports - $ Billions Change, ’19 – ’20
of the virus, those sectors of Houston’s economy tied to Rank Metro ’20 ’19 $ Billions %
global trade especially suffered. 1 Houston 104.5 128.0 -23.5 -18.3
2 New York 75.7 87.0 -11.2 -12.9
0 Port of Houston’s tonnage fell 12.8 million metric tons (6.6 3 Los Angeles 50.2 61.9 -11.7 -18.9
percent) during the pandemic, nearly all the decline oc- 4 Chicago 41.3 42.5 -1.2 -2.9
curring in shipments of crude and refined products. Ship- 5 Dallas 35.6 39.6 -3.9 -9.9
ments of chemicals were flat and plastics marginally up. 6 New Orleans 31.1 33.7 -2.6 -7.7
7 Detroit 30.7 41.4 -10.7 -25.9
0 The Houston Airport System handled 3.9 million inter- 8 Miami 29.1 35.5 -6.4 -18.0
national passengers in 2020, down from 12.0 million 9 Portland 27.8 23.8 4.0 16.7
the prior year. Over sixty percent of those passengers 10 El Paso 27.2 32.7 -5.5 -16.8
traveled in Quarter 1 of 2020, before many countries All Others 453.3 526.1 -72.8 -13.8
imposed international travel restrictions.
Total 1,431.4 1,643.2 -211.8 -12.9
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
0 The poor job market, international travel restrictions,
and anti-immigrant rhetoric slowed the flow of
newcomers from abroad. International migration fell to The U.S. Census Bureau, which gathers the data, has yet
24,587 residents, the lowest level in over 20 years. to publish any industry-specific details for 2020, but for the
past decade, Houston’s top five exports have been oil explora-
The pandemic dented FDI as well. The Partnership main- tion services, crude and refined products, chemicals and plas-
tains a database of businesses that have relocated, expanded, tics, industrial machinery, and computers and electronics.
or established operations in Houston. This information is gath- In a much-cited study, The Brookings Institution found
ered from real estate firms, media outlets, newsletters, and that exports supported 17.3 percent of Houston’s gross do-
company announcements. In a typical year, the Partnership’s mestic product in 2017 and 330,340 direct and indirect jobs.
research team might capture 250 to 300 such announcements, Brookings has not updated the study since, but a back-of-the-
of which 30 to 40 are for companies headquartered overseas. envelope calculation suggests exports contribution could be
Last year, the organization identified only 158 new businesses, even higher today. According to the U.S. International Trade
of which only 11 involved foreign-owned companies. Administration (ITA), exports supported 1.1 million Texas
The pandemic had the greatest impact on demand for the jobs in 2019. Houston accounted for about 42 percent of
commodity most identified with Houston—crude petroleum. Texas’s exports that year. On a pro-rata basis, that suggests
Global demand fell by over 20 million barrels last April. The exports support about 470,000 direct and indirect jobs in the
average price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the bench- region. While this is more of a “ballpark” number, it under-
mark for U.S. light, sweet crude, fell 71 percent. The North scores the point that as global growth picks up, the demand
American rig count fell to 244 rigs, lowest point record. for Houston’s exports will heat up, and in turn, growth in
Energy companies shifted to survival mode, canceling Houston should grow.
equipment orders, cutting back on exploration, and laying
off staff. Over 50 energy-related companies announced A few other points to consider:
layoffs large enough to be reported in the media or require
a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission under the 0 Houston has trading relationships with more than 200
Worker Adjustment and Renotification (WARN) Act. This countries.

16 NBIZ ■ June 2021