June container volume at Port Houston showed double-digit growth, totaling 323,823 TEUs, an 11% increase compared to the same month last year and the biggest June ever for containers, according to the company's release.
It’s the fifth month this year with double-digit growth over 2021, which was a record year for Port Houston’s container volume. Year-to-date, Port Houston has handled just shy of two million TEUs, specifically 1,897,065 TEUs, an 18% increase compared to 2021.
Port Houston owns and operates two container terminals, Barbours Cut and Bayport Container Terminals, though recently containers can also be seen at Port Houston’s general cargo terminals. While still a relatively small number of containers, 106% more container TEUs than last June and 25% more year-to-date moved through the general cargo terminals.
On June 4 Port Houston implemented Saturday gate hours to support the flow of cargo through its container terminals. Both Barbours Cut and Bayport Container Terminals now have an additional nine hours of service on Saturdays. Port Houston is also constructing wharves, adding container yard space, and expanding the Houston Ship Channel.
Tonnage at Port Houston’s general cargo facilities was up 16% in June and 24% for the first half of the year as compared to last year. Steel imports were up 33% for the month and 102% year-to-date as drilling operations and the demand for Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) are up. Auto import units showed an increase of 411% in June, bringing the year-to-date number to just 1% shy of the same time in 2021.
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 U.S. 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 U.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.