Port of Houston CEO Alec Dreyer said Wednesday in his monthly report that while steel shipments continued to rise, container operations dipped from last year's levels during the short summer lull.
Container tonnage in June was down approximately 2 percent year-on-year, but is still up over 7 percent for the first half of the year. "It means the container liner companies that service Houston are handling more vessels with higher profitability--more cargo per ship--and in the long run, this means the Texas economy is expanding," Dreyer said.
Steel tonnage surged at the port during June, totaling 442,000 net tons--nearly three times the level of June 2010 and up 86 percent or 886,000 net tons for the first six months of 2011.
Due to continued strength in steel tonnage, Turning Basin revenue was up 38 percent in June and is up 31 percent for the first half of the year.