Port Houston moved 1.3 million container TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) through the first six months of 2018, a six percent increase from 2017, Executive Director Roger Guenther announced in his report to the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority in its regular monthly meeting in July.

Guenther also noted that Bayport Container Terminal recorded the largest number of single-vessel container box lifts in Port Houston’s history, with more than 4,800 lifts performed during one vessel operation. The historic performance involved a ship from one of Port Houston’s East Asian services (a 6,400 TEU-class vessel) that regularly calls at the port.

“This vessel would not have called Port Houston facilities without the expansion of the Panama Canal,” Guenther said. “We were able to handle this business due to the investments we have made in deepening and widening the Bayport channel, as well as investments in the equipment capable of handling this class of ship.”

“This historic operational performance eclipsed the previous record by 650 moves on one ship,” Guenther added. “This very productive rate was due to the diligent efforts of Port Houston operations personnel, our stevedoring partners and the labor we rely on each day.”

Port Houston operating revenues of $179 million set two monthly records during the first half of 2018; a revenue record was set in March and then was broken again in May, with revenue reaching more than $32 million. Guenther also reported that each sector of Port Houston’s business experienced revenue growth in the first six months, led by volume increases in its container business.

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Port Houston steel imports increased by 17 percent and container activity grew by 3 percent over 2017, Executive Director Roger Guenther reported at the May Port Commission meeting. Guenther also stated that April was “another strong month” for cargo at port facilities.

Guenther noted that container import growth continues to be driven by business from the East Asia trade lanes, and a year-to-date total of 13 million tons of cargo has passed through Port Houston terminals, reflecting a 2 percent annual growth.

In other business news, Guenther announced that Port Houston had been added to MSC’s existing Indus service. That container service, which employs nine 8,400 TEU vessels, already calls the U.S. East Coast, India, and the Middle East via the Suez Canal, and will begin calling the Bayport Container Terminal in early June.

Guenther also added that Port Houston’s Barbours Cut Terminal is the first U.S. port of call for a new all-water service between the U.S. and Latin America. The new Gulf Ocean Express service is operated jointly by SeaLand and MSC.

Also during the meeting, DNV GL representatives presented Port Houston with a plaque for the port's continued achievements in environmental stewardship, recognizing its recent recertification to the Environmental Management System ISO 14001 standard at the May Port Commission meeting. In 2002, Port Houston became the first U.S. port authority to achieve the EMS ISO 14001 standard.

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Year-to-date total tonnage for Port Houston through March is 9.7 million, reflecting a 2 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Results showed that bulk material and steel were the primary drivers for the growth.

“We continue to see positive activity for all sectors of business through Port Houston facilities,” Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther said during the April Port Commission meeting.  

Year-to-date increases were recorded across all major lines. Steel tonnage overall increased 14 percent to 875,000 tons and steel imports grew by 11 percent. Container volume grew 2 percent to 617,000 TEUs, and bulk cargo recorded at 2.6 million tons, reflecting 14 percent growth driven primarily by export coal.

“Solid operating and financial results for the first quarter of the year speak to the strengths of strategic guidance provided by the Port Commission, our dedicated Port staff and a productive workforce, all of which provide a competitive solution for freight to move through Port Houston,” Guenther concluded in his remarks to the Commission.

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The amount of cargo handled at Port Houston was up 7 percent through the first two months of 2018, signaling another strong year, Executive Director Roger Guenther announced at the March Port Commission meeting.  

Through February, Port Houston terminals handled 6.1 million tons of cargo, which Guenther called an encouraging start for this year.

“We are off and running, a quarter of the way through another busy year, and port facilities are seeing tremendous activity and delivering solid results,” Guenther told attendees at the meeting.

Those results include a noteworthy uptick in steel imports, which were up 17 percent in January and February. Although steel tariffs went into effect in mid-March, exemptions have been granted for many countries that import steel, and steel volumes at Port Houston continue to look strong.

Container activity is up nearly 1 percent for the first two months, despite being compared to 2017, a year where substantial container volume increases were recorded. While container exports have been less than expected so far, the increased production of resins resulting from the expansion of facilities along the Houston Ship Channel is beginning to materialize and an upward trend is anticipated for the remainder of the year.

Port Houston in 2017 was the fastest-growing of the top 10 container ports in the United States, based on PIERS data.

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As Port Houston closes out another year, port facilities continue to deliver solid results. Executive Director Roger Guenther reported that main drivers of the port’s growth include containers and steel imports.

“Steel volumes continue to trend upward, totaling 3.4 million tons, reflecting a 57 percent increase compared to the same period last year,” remarked Guenther at a public meeting Dec. 12.

“We expect to pass the 2.4 million TEU container mark by the end of this year,” Guenther added. He noted this milestone achievement for the port considering challenges including loss of time and labor hours due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

It was only two years ago that the port eclipsed the two million container TEU mark.

Through November, port terminals have handled nearly 35 million tons of cargo versus 32 million tons for the same time period last year, which is a 9 percent increase over 2016.

“Our financial results are solidly in line as well with the operational performance of our Port facilities,” Guenther said.

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