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For Port Laredo, a record trade year in 2021 is a real possibility
Port Laredo is going to almost certainly have a rebound year in 2021. But it might also have a record year if it continues with its current pace.
Powered by record imports, Port Laredo’s total trade was $58.32 billion through March, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Imports accounted for a record $34.7 billion while exports topped $24.61 billion, the highest total since the first three months of 2018.
That 2021 total is 5.07 percent above the first quarter of 2020, when Covid-19 was only beginning to be a factor. It was a less substantial 2.79 percent ahead of the record total three years prior, in the first quarter of 2018. In 2018, Port Laredo went on to set an annual record of $234.66 billion.
Around the United States: Nevertheless, trade is rebounding around the country slightly faster than it is in Laredo. Through March, U.S. trade is up 7.70 percent over 2020 and 3.26 percent over 2019.
Port Laredo ranked third among the nation’s more than 450 airports, seaports and border crossings in the first quarter, trailing only the Port of Los Angeles and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. It finished 2020 trailing those two as well as JFK International Airport, which now ranks fourth.
Record Port Laredo Imports: Fast out of the gates in 2021 for Port Laredo are five top 10 imports that are all off to record starts.
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Motor vehicle parts, the top-ranked import, are up 9.71 percent from 2020 and 14.36 percent from 2019.
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Insulated wire and cable, often used in the automotive industry and the seventh-ranked import, topped $1 billion in the first quarter for the first time, increasing 23.59 percent over 2020 and 33.73 percent over 2019.
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Air-conditioning machines, including parts, are up 18.19 percent from 2020 and 20.29 percent from 2019. In the case of Port Laredo, well over half the value is in AC parts, part of the integrated automotive supply chain between Mexico and the United States.
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Refrigerators and freezers, Port Laredo’s ninth-ranked import, showed a steady increase over both 2020, up 20.01 percent, and 2019, up 20.17 percent.
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Engine parts, ranked 10th, increased 33.72 percent over 2020 and 16.73 percent over pre-Covid 2019.
Overall imports increased 4.97 percent over the first quarter of 2020 and 4.90 percent over the previous first quarter of 2019.
Overall exports increased 5.21 percent over 2020 and decreased every-so-slightly from 2019, off 0.17 percent.
Exports setting records: While overall exports were not running at a record pace in the first quarter, seven of the top 10 were. That included exports ranked second through eighth:
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Gasoline and other refined petroleum products, up 52.38 percent from a year ago and 57.23 percent over two years ago.
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Diesel engines, up 38.53 percent from 2020 and 12.37 percent from 2019.
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Natural gas and other petroleum gases, up 438.51 percent and 840.26 percent, respectively.
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Miscellaneous chemical reaction accelerators, up 38.08 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
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PVC plastics, with an increase of 30.25 percent over 2020, and 17.76 over the first quarter of 2019.
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Refined copper, up 118.66 percent from 2020 and 57.78 percent from 2019.
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Corn, up 55.49 percent and 38.41 percent over 2019.
Deficit, balance of trade: With imports rising more than exports through the first quarter, Port Laredo is also on track to set a record for its greatest-ever trade deficit. For the first time it topped $11 billion in the first quarter of the year and, for the second consecutive year, topped $10 billion.
Port Laredo’s percentage of its trade that is an export – a data point closely released to the surplus/(deficit) calculation – has also tilted toward imports in recent years. In 2021, 40.49 percent of each dollar of trade between Port Laredo and the world has been a U.S. export, slightly higher than the national average. While this percentage generally moves quite slowly, that is not always the case. Five years ago, it was a shade under 45 percent of exports.
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