THE Port of Houston has retained some of the cargo that was diverted its way last year by shippers seeking to avoid congestion at west coast ports that resulted labour strife.
Box volume flat at Houston after last year's spike from diverted cargo THE Port of Houston has retained some of the cargo that was diverted its way last year by shippers seeking to avoid congestion at west coast ports that resulted labour strife. Houston box volume was one per cent up year on year to 171,648 TEU in February, while general cargo fell 12 per cent to almost three million tons. This demonstrated, said officials, that Houston's new appeal to shippers and its ability to retain some of the diverted cargo, had stayed the course, reported American Shipper. A year ago, loaded container volumes grew almost 18 per cent due to cargo diversion from the US west coast. Loaded import container volumes in 2016 have declined two per cent (7,203 TEU) in the first two months of the year to 129,591 TEU. Overall, container volumes are down 2.9 per cent year-to-date, but much of that difference is in empties. The Houston Port Authority said the decline in general cargo was primarily driven by a drop in steel imports.
