The Port of Houston Authority announced Tuesday that despite significant negative impacts of fog in February, steel tonnage handled at the port surged 84 percent in February 2011 from February 2010. The Port of Houston handled over 230,000 net tons (nt) of steel in February compared to 125,000 nt February 2010.
"Year to date, steel is up 740,000 tons or 69 percent over last year, giving us a nice boost going into the strong summer season," said Port of Houston CEO Alec G. Dreyer said. "Turning Basin revenue for the first two months is up some 23 percent, which is directly related to the strong increase in steel."
TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) volumes were down 6 percent, but container tonnage was down only 2 percent in February versus last year. Dreyer also noted that year to date, TEU volumes are flat compared to last year, while container tonnage is up 2 percent overall.
Container volumes for March looked reasonably strong through the first three weeks of the month, and Dreyer predicted a return to a stronger growth mode by month's end.