Ports & Terminals

Port Houston Set Several Records In May

Business continues to be strong for Port Houston. Several records were broken during May.

“Port-wide container business is stronger than ever,” Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther announced to the port commission of the Port of Houston Authority during its June 26 meeting. “The highest record in container volume in Port Houston’s history was set last month.”

Guenther said that more than 245,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent containers) passed across the port’s facilities. This latest highest total for Port Houston containers reflects a 7 percent increase over the previous record set in March, with 617,000 TEUs recorded.

Total container volume through May is more than 1.1 million TEUs, which shows an increase of 6 percent over the same period in 2017.

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Breakbulk and special project business lines continue to be strong. “Import steel continues to show solid growth,” Guenther shared in his report. Port Houston general cargo terminals handled more than 500,000 tons of steel in May, the highest total since April 2015.

Demonstrating its commitment to financial stewardship and economic impact to the community it serves, Guenther reported to the commission that Port Houston’s finance team concluded a bond refunding transaction that generated savings of nearly $47 million for the taxpayers of Harris County, Texas.