by the numbers

Texas ranks as No. 2 manufacturing hub in U.S., behind only California

A new study puts Texas at No. 2 among the states when it comes to manufacturing. Photo via Getty Images

Texas ranks among the country’s biggest hubs for manufacturing, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by Chinese manufacturing components supplier YIJIN Hardware, puts Texas at No. 2 among the states when it comes to manufacturing-hub status. California holds the top spot.

YIJIN crunched data from the U.S. Census Bureau, International Trade Administration, and National Association of Manufacturers to analyze manufacturing activity in each state. The study weighed factors such as number of manufacturing establishments, number of manufacturing employees, total value of manufacturing output, total manufacturing exports and manufacturing’s share of a state’s gross domestic product.

Here are Texas’ figures for those categories:

  • 19,526 manufacturing establishments
  • 847,470 manufacturing employees
  • Total manufacturing output of $292.6 billion
  • Total manufacturing exports of $291.9 billion
  • 11.3 percent share of state GDP

According to Texas Economic Development & Tourism, the state’s largest manufacturing sectors include automotive, tech, petroleum, chemicals, and food and beverage.

“The Lone Star State is truly a manufacturing powerhouse,” the state agency says.

In an October speech, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the state’s robust manufacturing industry.

“We are proud that Texas is home to a booming manufacturing sector,” he said. “Thanks to our strong manufacturing sector, ‘Made in Texas’ has never been a bigger brand.”

Houston is a cornerstone of Texas’ manufacturing industry. The region produces more than $75 billion worth of goods each year, according to the Greater Houston Partnership. That makes Houston the second-ranked U.S. metro area for manufacturing GDP. The more than 7,000 manufacturing establishments in the area employ over 223,000 people.

“As one of the most important industrial bases in the world, Houston has access to many global markets thanks to its central location within the U.S. and the Americas,” the partnership says.

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A View From HETI

The company's 200-megawatt battery facility in Galveston County came online this month. Photo via aoprenewables.com

Houston-based Alpha Omega Power, which develops, invests in and runs utility-scale battery energy storage systems, has signed a deal to add more storage capacity from a subsidiary of South Korean tech giant Samsung.

The latest deal adds 1 gigawatt-hour of storage capacity to Alpha Omega’s existing contract with Samsung SDI America, bringing total storage capacity to 1.5 gigawatts.

The Michigan-based Samsung subsidiary is manufacturing the systems’ cells and modules at a plant in Indiana, Alpha Omega said. Samsung SDI plans to deliver them by the end of this year.

“This second agreement strengthens our domestic supply chain supporting the next generation of energy infrastructure,” Paul Choi, CEO of Alpha Omega, said in a press release.

Houston-based Fengate Asset Management owns Alpha Omega. In 2023, they formed a partnership to build, acquire, and operate utility-scale battery energy storage projects in the U.S. Their 200-megawatt Vertus battery facility in Galveston County came online this month.

Alpha Omega plans to use the Samsung SDI systems to improve grid reliability and meet greater demand for power in markets served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Salt Lake City-based Western Electricity Coordinating Council.

ERCOT covers 90 percent of power customers in Texas. The Western Interconnection grid covers all or part of 14 states, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.

Samsung SDI is the only non-Chinese supplier of rigid-metal “prismatic” energy storage batteries in North America, according to Alpha Omega.

“With strong durability and fire safety compared with pouch-type batteries, its prismatic batteries have helped the company meet the stringent requirements of U.S. energy companies,” Alpha Omega said.

The Samsung Battery Box 1.7 equipment being purchased by Alpha Omega offers AI-powered algorithms and 25 years of continuous use, along with greater energy density than its predecessor. It also features the ability to directly inject fire-extinguishing agents on a module-by-module basis.

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