Imports Growing,Too Port Houston Projects Big Increase in Exports
P ort Houston currently enjoys an even balance of exports and imports, which is an attractive feature to shippers. And both categories are projected to increase in 2017. Measured by twenty-foot-equivalent units, container moves through Port Houston are expected to increase by 8.8 percent in 2017, with export loads climbing 13.4 percent and import loads growing by 6 percent. The surge in exports that is anticipated as 2017 unfolds is primarily due to pet- rochemical companies expanding their facilities along the Houston Ship Chan- nel, leading to a jump in the exporting of plastic resins, a byproduct of the petro- chemical process. On the import side, Port Hous- ton is the fastest-growing port in the United States in terms of loaded import
the efficiency of the supply chain, and to reduce truck turn time, and emissions. Optical Character Recognition technology is used at the truck gates, which allows virtually seamless check-in for truck drivers. Additionally, the use of a bilingual mobile app for truckers lets drivers check the status of the container they need to retrieve so that there is no wait time. Port Houston extended gate hours in 2016, and is expected to extend them further in 2017. Although just a dozen years ago Port Houston had minimal container traffic from Asia, today that business comprises about 28% of the port’s container trade. Maersk Line and Mediter- ranean Shipping Co. began operating a new direct all-water container service between the U.S. Gulf and Asia in April, with the Port of Houston as the first inbound port of call.This alliance enhances existing weekly Asian services operated by CMA CGM and COSCO. Significantly, the widening and deepening of the Bayport container channel is being completed in December, meaning both of Port Houston’s container terminals are at 45 feet deep and able to accommodate larger ships.
containers from East Asia, statistics provided by the American Association of Port Authorities show. Due to steady growth, imports in that trade lane grew by 12 percent between 2011 and 2015, more than any other port in the country. That’s one reason why Port Houston’s leadership has focused intently on infrastructure improvements in recent years, includ- ing both landside and waterside improvements. New Super Post-Panamax wharf cranes were recently put in place, for example, and others are on order. Other improvements range from new container yards to docks to dredging. The five-year review revealed that Houston ranked as the fastest-growing port in inbound loaded containers comes as data also shows the port is on track to surpass 2015’s record- breaking year. Container volumes topped 2.1 million TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units) in 2015. Port Houston is now the third-fastest growing port in the na- tion in terms of loaded TEUs and continues to grow.The port handles about two-thirds of the containers moving through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and is the leading breakbulk and project cargo port in North America.With six general cargo facili- ties and two container terminals, the diverse cargo-handling capabilities at the docks at Port Houston make it the U.S. Gulf Coast leader in maritime shipping and logistics. Shippers are attracted to the port in part because of the qual- ity of its infrastructure and its innovation and customer service. State-of-the-art truck gates are in use at terminals to increase
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2017 Texas Export Guide
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