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Port of Houston Accelerates Growth Plans

The growth of container shipping at the port has accelerated to 12% to 13% annually.

By John McCloud | Updated on July 21, 2008

HOUSTON-The $100.5 million contract recently awarded for construction of a new 1,330-foot wharf at the Port of Houston’s recently inaugurated Bayport Container Facility marks not just an unexpected acceleration of the agency’s development schedule but also another stage in the ascension of Gulf Coast and East Coast ports in general. Since a work stoppage at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach left hundreds of ships stranded a few miles offshore in 2002, an increasing number of retailers and suppliers have attempted to diversify the entry points for imported goods to ensure a steady flow of merchandise and parts to their customers.

“With the West Coast work stoppage, distributors began to see the downside of having everything brought to a single location,” explains James T. Edmonds, chairman of the Port of Houston. “A problem at that location could disrupt the entire supply chain for weeks at a time. As a result, you’re seeing large distribution centers being built in Houston and other non-West Coast ports and creating new growth opportunities.”

According to Edmonds, the growth of container shipping at the port has accelerated to 12% to 13% annually, up from about 4% a few years ago. When port officials began planning the 1,200-acre Bayport facility in 2002, they expected a 60-acre staging area in first phase, originally slated for completion in 2006 but delayed more than a year due to environmental issues, would be sufficient to handle projected container trade growth. But shortly after going into construction, volume had increased so sharply they expanded staging area contract to 110 acres.

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