Port Houston is seeing its busiestyear ever for containers. TEUs in October were 328,486, which was 11% more than October 2020, and November followed with 314,576 containers, 20% more than the same month last year, according to the company's release.
Year-to-date through November, container TEUs are up 16% at Port Houston, reaching 3,150,062 TEUs and already exceeding the complete 2020 annual TEUs of 3,001,164, which was a record year. November 2021 was the 9th consecutive month of double digit growth at Port Houston for TEUs.
After a slow start to the year at Port Houston’s multi-purpose facilities, steel jumped 182% in October and 226% in November. Steel is up 48% year to date through November.
Other sectors also saw increases in recent months, including lumber, up 230% year to date, and bagged goods, up 39% year to date. Auto units are up 13% year to date through November.
Port Houston is actively working with the local International Longshoremen Association (ILA)to ensure future labor availability through training and added support to prepare for future demand. The partnership has proved beneficial as more crane operators and maritime workers join the workforce to support port operations.
Port Houston container terminals are currently ranked 6th in the nation. Recently the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released their rankings and the Houston Ship Channel once again ranked number one in total tonnage in the United States. The Channel, which is made up of more than 200 public and private terminals, handled more than 275 million short tons of cargo during 2020, exceeding the next largest port by more than 50 million tons. About Port Houston For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient container terminals in the country.
Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 public and private terminals, collectively known as the Port of Houston, is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the U.S. The Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.35 million jobs in Texas and 3.2 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $339 billion in Texas –20.6 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) – and $801.9 billion in economic impact across the nation.