Port Houston container volume up 1% to 329,462 TEUs in September 2024
Port Houston has recorded 3,120,589 TEUs so far this year, a 10% increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to the company's release. Loaded imports were up 4% for the month of September and 8% year-to-date. Loaded exports, although down 8% for September, are up 10% year-to-date primarily due to continued demand for resins. Total container volume for the month of September was 329,462 TEUs, an increase of 1% compared to September 2023.
In September, Port Houston’s Bayport Container Terminal welcomed its largest vessel on record, the CMA CGM CASSIOPEIA. The vessel, measuring 1,188 feet in length and 150 feet in width, arrived with 11,356 TEUs, and 7,327 moves were completed during its stay. By the end of November 15,000 TEU neo-Panamax vessels will be approved to routinely call Bayport, the result of the ongoing Houston Ship Channel Expansion, known as Project 11. This project is widening the Channel from 530’ to 700’ and making other safety and efficiency improvements.
At Port Houston’s multipurpose facilities steel imports were also up this month, showing growth of 25% in September compared to the same month last year. Total tonnage across all Port Houston’s public facilities is 39,444,673 tons through the first nine months of the year, growth of 4% compared to 2023. BCOs, carriers, freight forwarders, and other leaders of industry will gather in Houston in early November for the third annual Houston International Maritime Conference (HIMC). From November 6 to November 8, attendees will network and discuss topics including landside fluidity, the state of the region’s economy, cold chain in Houston, importer insights, sustainability in shipping, and more.
Port Houston has owned and operated the eight 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 US. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 private and eight public terminals is the US largest port for waterborne tonnage.
