As the Houston Ship Channel sets new records in both performance and volume, Port of Houston Authority Chair Janiece Longoria eagerly anticipates the channel’s 100th anniversary celebration set for Nov. 10.
“We all know the ship channel centennial is a significant milestone,” Longoria said. “It is also stunning to imagine that because of the ship channel we now host the largest petrochemical complex in the nation and the second largest in the world. We’re very proud of that.”
Categorizing commerce stemming from the ship channel as “not particularly robust” in 2008 as a result of the economic global downturn, Longoria said the channel’s business has recovered significantly.
Addressing the 2014 Petrochemical and Maritime Outlook Conference, Longoria said business to port authority facilities has exceeded the previous year’s record-breaking performance.
“Steel and bulk cargos have supported a solid 5-percent growth in tonnage at our facilities this year,” she said. “The month of July reported the highest tonnage of steel since 2008, at 844 thousand tons.”
The port’s container volume has seen a 4-percent increase in the number of loaded boxes driven by an increase in loaded imports. Longoria said the result is “a better balance between our export containers and our import containers,” which will increase efficiency for shippers.
A forecast for 2014 prepared by Port of Houston Authority staff indicates a revised increase of 10 percent in cash flow for the year, exceeding $100 million.
“We plan to reinvest this cash in the infrastructure assets we need to increase capacity to ensure our facilities are ready to handle increased product,” Longoria said. “Business today at our docks is the strongest in our history, and our forecasts continue to trend upward.”
Longoria credits shale gas exploration and production for the economic revival of the energy sector and its impact on growing exports.
“The tremendous supply of natural gas has spurred billions of dollars in investment in manufacturing facilities in our region, especially along the Houston Ship Channel,” she said. “Local industry plans to invest about $35 million in infrastructure through 2015 alone. We’re seeing a significant increase in manufacturing on our channel and on the U.S. Gulf Coast.”
Port of Houston Authority officials announced earlier this year partners have signed a 30-year lease to construct the world’s largest facility exporting refrigerated ethane, the raw material used for the production and manufacture of plastic resin.
Plastic resin exports account for one-third of the loaded containers coming out of the Port of Houston, Longoria said, with six more major plastic resin projects coming on line between the fourth quarters of 2016 and 2017.
“Some of these companies have indicated they will triple their exports in the next two to five years,” she added.
To meet this anticipated cargo increase, Port of Houston Authority will invest more than $1 billion in the next five years in expansion and improvement of its facilities.
“These investments include both waterside dredging projects and capital infrastructure on our docks,” Longoria said.
“This is exciting news for the Port of Houston and for the entire region in terms of creating jobs and economic opportunity,” Longoria concluded. “We at the Port Authority are committed to doing whatever it takes to accommodate increased container volume out of our port for all of our shippers. We are very diligently preparing for the rapid growth that lies ahead.
“Our message is clear: Because of our continued innovation, customer support and infrastructure investment, the Port of Houston is ready to accommodate increased customer cargo today, tomorrow and into the future.”
For more information, visit www.portofhouston.com or www.allianceportregion.com.
