Houston first quarter box volume up 6pc with 16pc rise in April

WHILE yet to be compiled April numbers for Port of Houston "look very strong", performance was up 16 per cent year on year in March with a quarterly increase of six per cent, though no total volumes were provided by the port authority.


"Container volumes for April also look very strong through the first three weeks of this month," said Port of Houston Authority CEO Alec Dreyer. "We had two 8,000-TEU ship arrivals [MSC Maeva] - the largest containerships that have ever come into the Gulf."


Mr Dreyer said March was strong in all commodity categories, calling it the best month since he joined the Port Authority in September 2009.


"Ship arrivals at our container facilities were up a strong 22 per cent for the month, regaining what was lost in February due to the short month and fog-related impacts," he said.


"Steel also had an excellent month in March, with tonnage up 112 per cent or 192,000 tons to a monthly total of 363,000 tons," he said.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)