Port Houston saw container exports surge in June

Port Houston saw a surge in container exports in June, while crude oil exports rose at the Port of Corpus Christi.

Port Houston saw 16% boost in export container volumes in June

Port Houston handled 339,157 twenty-foot equivalent units in June, a 7% year-over-year increase.

The port handled 174,175 TEUs in container exports during the month, a 16% year-over-year increase. Loaded exports in June increased 11% year-over-year to 114,728 TEUs.

Year to date, loaded container exports are up 14% year over year to 769,844 TEUs. 

General export tonnage was up 23% year over year in June at 1 million tons. Total revenue export tonnage was up 15% year over year in June at 2.6 million tons.

While container exports and tonnage were up for June, import containers decreased less than 1% year over year to 164,982 TEUs.

General import cargo decreased 29% year over year in June to 494,115 tons. Total import tonnage was down 7% year over year in June at 2.4 million tons.

Imports of steel rose 2% year over year to 427,058 TEUs during the month, while exports of steel decreased 18% year over year to 3,226 tons.

Loaded import containers increased 5% year over year in June at 153,778 TEUs.

Ship calls for June were up 9% year over year to 725 vessels. Barges calling Port Houston increased 8% year over year to 316.

During the July commission meeting, port officials approved the purchase of eight dockside electric container cranes for over $113 million from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. It is the largest crane order in the port’s history.

Roger Guenther, executive director at Port Houston, said the purchase from the China-based manufacturer comes at a time when 25% tariffs on Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes are set to come into force on Thursday.

The 25% tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes would be applied at the time of delivery to ports.

Guenther said port officials have submitted comments to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai concerning the impact of the tariffs on the Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes.

“We understand the U.S. Trade Representative is reviewing all comments and will provide a response on or before Aug. 1, when the tariff is set to take effect,” Guenther said in a statement.

Related: Texas Gulf Coast ports record strong freight movements in May

Crude oil exports increase at Port of Corpus Christi

The Port of Corpus Christi saw a 1% year-over-year increase in total cargo to 16.8 million tons in June, led by an 11% year-over-year boost in crude oil exports.

The port handled 10.9 million total tons of crude oil shipments during the month, an 8% increase compared to the same year-ago period. 

Exports of crude oil for June totaled 10.4 million tons, compared to 9.5 million tons in June of last year.

Shipments of petroleum totaled 4.8 million tons during June, a 4% year-over-year decrease. Exports of petroleum were at 3.7 million tons for the month, a 1% year-over-year decline.

Dry bulk cargo decreased 30% year over year to 689,324 tons in June.

Chemical shipments increased 16% year over year to 307,324 tons, while bulk grain shipments fell 23% year over year to 122,308 tons.

The Port of Corpus Christi had 189 ship calls in June, a 6% year-over-year decrease from 2023. The port recorded 451 barge calls during the month, an 8% year-over-year decline compared to the same year-ago period.

During the second quarter, the port moved 50.1 million tons through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in the second quarter of 2024, a 1.7% increase over the same period in 2023, according to a news release.

Crude oil tonnage increased 4.8% in the second quarter to 33 million tons compared to the same period in 2023, while break bulk and agricultural cargoes jumped 52% and 40%, respectively, during that period.

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