Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Nov 17, 2011 9:11AM EST
Steel shipments in October through the Port of Houston rose 49 percent year-over-year and are up 60 percent year to date, while container traffic was flat last month.
Houston Port Authority CEO Alex Dreyer said steel traffic is expected to reach up to 4.1 million tons by the end of the year. "All of the growth at the Turning Basin [terminal] was related to steel movement," he said. "We've seen a nearly 30-percent increase there, which correlates with the higher steel volumes."
Container traffic has been flat despite being in the throes of the peak shipping season, and grain also showed a deep decline because of the drought, Dreyer said at the Nov. 15 meeting of the port commission. For the year to date through October, total ship arrivals at the port are up 3.3 percent year-over-year.
The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority adopted tariffs for 2012 at the meeting that reflect no general rate increase, but will include increases in security fees, harbor fees and water charges.
-- Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @petertleach.