Port Houston has released a new economic impact study that, according to a report published by Port Technology International on 26 August 2026, attributes $986.9 billion of total United States economic value and 3.53 million jobs in 2025 to marine cargo activity along the Houston Ship Channel.
The study, prepared by economic consultancy Martin Associates and released by Port Houston, measures the national economic contribution linked to marine cargo movements on the channel. The figures presented cover activity in 2025 and are reported as national, not solely regional, effects.
Martin Associates’ findings list the headline totals as a combined measure of direct, indirect and induced economic activity supporting the wider US economy. Port Technology International published the summary of the report on 26 August 2026, citing Port Houston’s announcement of the study.
Study findings
The study’s central figures are the $986.9 billion in total economic value and the 3.53 million jobs attributed to marine cargo activity along the Houston Ship Channel for the year 2025. The release frames those numbers as the economic footprint of marine cargo movements on the channel for that calendar year.
Martin Associates is named in the release as the author of the economic impact study; Port Houston is identified as having released the findings. The Port Technology International item served as the published report summarising those results on 26 August 2026.
Response from Port Houston
Charlie Jenkins, chief executive officer of Port Houston, is quoted in the material released with the study. The supplied notes record a partial quotation: "The Houston Ship Channel is one of the country's [ ... ]"; no further text of that quote is provided in the summary used for this report.
Port Houston’s publication of the Martin Associates study and the subsequent reporting by Port Technology International place emphasis on the scale of the channel’s economic linkage to the US economy in 2025. The study as reported describes the contribution in aggregate terms of value and employment rather than offering a line-by-line breakdown in the summary account cited here.
The Port Technology International coverage of the study appeared as an item headlined "Port Houston study reveals $986.9 billion economic impact" and dated 26 August 2026. That item conveyed Port Houston’s announcement and attributed the economic analysis to Martin Associates, without providing additional methodological detail in the summary that accompanies the headline.
Readers seeking the full study text or a detailed methodology should consult the primary release from Port Houston or the complete Martin Associates report; the Port Technology International item summarises those findings and serves as the published notice referenced in these factual notes.