Port of Houston CEO Alec G. Dreyer announced Wednesday that November's performance continued the pattern of the past three months, with stronger steel numbers outshining container performance during the month.
The Port Authority handled 219,000 net tons (nt) of steel in November 2010 -an increase of 128 percent. "The last nine months of 2010 have been a game of catch-up for us, given the record levels of steel that moved through Port Authority facilities in the first three months of 2009," Dreyer said.
"The port needs just 180,000 nt of steel in December to close the gap entirely and to have 2010 end up with an annual steel number above 2009," Dreyer said. "The good news is that our mid-month projections show steel coming in around 190,000 tons for December."
He also noted that year-to-date container revenue is up a robust 16 percent compared to the same 11-month period in 2009, with container tonnage up 7 percent for that period.
Ship arrivals at Port Authority facilities this year through November are more than 4 percent higher than the same 11-month period in 2009, Dreyer said. Ship arrivals are up 12 percent at the Turning Basin and up 7 percent at container facilities. He also noted barge traffic has shown significant growth all year and is up 17 percent in November year-to-date.