Port Houston annual container volumes near record in December 2020
Port Houston’s container activity rose again in December, pushing the level of TEUs for the year high enough to virtually match the level set in 2019, which was a record year, the company said in its release. Port Houston handled 4% more containers this December compared to last, recording 264,626 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), compared to 253,830 TEUs in December of last year.
For the 2020 year overall, Port Houston handled 2,989,347 TEUs, compared to 2,990,175 TEUs in 2019.December marked the second-highest month ever for loaded imports, with 126,771 TEUs handled, a 26% jump over December 2019. That activity was just behind the level recorded in October of this year.These high levels of cargo activity were reached despite the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on global commerce. Cargo began slowing worldwide in March and continued through the summer. Imports began improving toward the end of the year.
As 2021 kicks off, Executive Director Roger Guenther is optimistic that the rebound in container volumes underway at Port Houston will continue. Port Houston projections for this year indicate additional growth.To support the growing customer base, Port Houston continues to expand, investing in infrastructure and labor.Total cargo was down 4% for the year overall in 2020, mainly attributed to a decreased demand for oil country tubular goods or “OCTG” in the form of steel pipe for the energy sector. Grain and bulk cargoes were up year-over-year, but steel and autos were down.
Port Houston is the sixth largest container port in the United States and is the dominant container port on the U.S. Gulf Coast, handling more than two-thirds of all the containers in the gulf.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 and fastest-growing 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
