Caption: Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther

Hundreds of maritime professionals attended the fourth annual JOC Gulf Shipping Conference held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel downtown May 20-22. The event was hosted by Port Houston and organized by the Journal of Commerce and parent company IHS Markit.

The panelists discussed shipping trends and the efficiency and importance of commerce moving through U.S. Gulf ports. The event provided an in-depth look at the latest topics, challenges and solutions emerging for cargo owners importing and exporting through the Gulf.

“The significant industry activity on the Gulf Coast presents opportunities for the continued growth of international trade and business,” said Roger Guenther, Port Houston’s executive director. Guenther participated in the program during a session about the Houston Ship Channel’s growth, challenges and opportunities. “We were pleased to sponsor this event that featured dynamic discussions of of interest, including petrochemical plastic resins, container shipping, inland transportation and cargo visibility.”

Guenther also noted that the Houston Ship Channel remains the number one priority for Port Houston, which continues to make significant infrastructure investments at its facilities. Houston is the epicenter of massive energy and petrochemical manufacturing investments that are resulting in more jobs across the nation, increased energy security and increased exports.

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Petrochemical, maritime and logistics professionals joined together for the annual Gulf Coast Industry Forum organized by Economic Alliance Houston Port Region Sept. 19 and 20.

The two-day conference provides regional forecasts, outlooks, concerns and opportunities in the industries along the Houston Ship Channel.

Port Chairman Janiece Longoria provided the keynote address on day one of the conference. “2017 was another record year for Port Houston’s performance. Representing nearly 80% of Port Houston’s gross revenue, containerized cargo continued to be our fastest-growing business line,” said Longoria.

The port continues to be the dominant port of export for synthetic resins, including polyethylene that is exported in containers. Population growth is driving goods.

Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther served on a freight transportation panel along with Harris County, the Texas Department of Transportation and Jetco Delivery Co.

“Efficient movement of freight is critical to our region and across the state,” said Guenther. More than 6,000 trucks move through the port’s container terminals a day, he noted.

Brian Fielkow, president of Jetco Delivery Co. lauded Port Houston’s emphasis on the truck gates at its container terminals.

“The investment that the port has made in technology is remarkable,” Fielkow said.

Throughout the event, various legislative, petrochemical and workforce sessions were held.

The conference was held at the Pasadena Convention Center.

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Beginning in 2016, Steve Silver Co. started shifting most of its Asian imports from U.S. West Coast ports to instead go across the docks at Port Houston. The move has provided extra reliability for the Texas-based company.

Port Houston now handles the lions’ share of the cargo that is brought into the United States by the big furniture wholesaler.

Located in Forney, just outside of Dallas, Steve Silver Co. operates from a 500,000- square- foot, 150-dock warehouse and distribution facility that is state-of-the-art.

Today, Steve Silver Co. has extensive overseas sourcing and employs 60 different people in five different Asian offices. The company imports furniture ranging from dining sets to occasional to bedroom, home office and upholstered furniture.

The decision two years ago at Steve Silver Co. to switch from moving most of the company’s cargo through West Coast ports to Port Houston was not made lightly. But company executives were pleased after discovering the benefits that were realized.

“We found that routing our cargo through Port Houston was not only a price-competitive decision, but it also gave us more reliability once the container hit the port,” said Brett Kendrick, who focuses on ocean freight for the company. “One of the greatest benefits is how it simplifies the final leg of the furniture’s journey to our warehouse in Forney, Texas. ” Much of Steve Silver‘s cargo that moves across Port Houston’s docks is trucked to the company’s warehouse in North Texas on that final leg.

The cargo being brought in by Steve Silver Co. is representative of what is transpiring at Port Houston overall. While 15 years ago little cargo from Asia was moving across the docks, imports from Asia now make up 41 percent of overall imports.

“Port Houston is handling the majority of our yearly volume,” Kendrick noted. “And we are looking forward to growing that volume in the coming years.”

You can learn more about Steve Silver Co. in the port's magazine.

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Port Houston is the first U.S. port of call in a new service between the United States and Latin America called the Gulf Ocean Express, which is operated by SeaLand, the Intra-Americas ocean carrier of the Maersk Group.

The direct all-water service connects Houston, New Orleans, Central America, Panama and Colombia. The first sailing under this new service was April 5, 2018, departing from Cartagena, Colombia, on the M/V Tiger. The vessel arrived in Houston April 18.

The new service was highlighted by SeaLand Chief Executive Officer Craig Mygatt during a keynote address he gave during the JOC Gulf Shipping Conference.

The Gulf Ocean Express serves U.S. export cargo out of the Gulf that includes resins, chemicals, paper, mining, metals and frozen meat. Imports into the U.S. include agricultural products, fresh fruit, forestry, automotive/transportation, chemicals, and apparel.

The service also will focus on special breakbulk and out-of-gauge products out of Houston, which handles more of that type cargo than any other port in the country.

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More than 400 people attended the third annual JOC Gulf Shipping Conference hosted by Port Houston and organized by The Journal of Commerce and parent company IHS Markit, April 16-18.

The attending professionals discussed shipping trends and the efficiency and importance of commerce moving through U.S. Gulf ports. The event provided an in-depth look at the latest trends, problems and solutions emerging for cargo owners importing and exporting through the Gulf.

“With the ongoing growth of the population in Houston and along the Gulf Coast, the amount of cargo moving through our ports is only going up,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who provided welcome remarks. The amount of industry activity on the Gulf Coast also presents opportunities for the growth of international trade and business.

“It is an exciting time for the industry along the Gulf Coast, which is engaged in positive change and growth, and everyone is working hard to ensure that we stay ahead of the curve,” Port Chairman Janiece Longoria said during a recent Port Commission meeting. “We are thrilled to host this two-day conference and the business that it brings to our region.”

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