Cargo flow was up at ports in Houston and Latest Orleans, but freight movements slowed barely in Corpus Christi, Texas, on account of lower exports of oil and petroleum in January.
Port Houston container shipments up 4% in January
Container movements began off the 12 months on high note at Port Houston, with the port handling 332,961 twenty-foot equivalent units in January, a 4% year-over-year (y/y) increase in comparison with 2023.
Officials said total container imports exceeded any January on record on the port’s two container facilities, Barbours Cut and Bayport. Full container imports increased 3% y/y in January to 154,493 TEUs.
“Import and export demand through Houston stays strong and we’re actually off to an excellent start in 2024,” Roger Guenther, Port Houston’s executive director, said in a news release.
Port officials said imports for the month were driven primarily by goods arriving from China prematurely of the country’s Lunar Latest Yr celebrations, which began on Feb. 10.
Total export tonnage increased 12% y/y in January to 2.6 million tons, led by general exports at 1 million tons.
Nevertheless, steel imports and exports at Port Houston are off to a slow start for the 12 months. Steel imports declined 45% y/y in January to 280,660 tons. Exports of steel declined 71% y/y to 1,776 tons.
Total revenue tonnage across all of Port Houston’s terminals also declined 3% y/y in January, totaling 4.9 million tons.
Port Houston recorded 645 ship calls in January, a 7% y/y decline, while barge calls totaled 304, a 16% y/y decrease.
Port of Latest Orleans records spike in containers, slips in breakbulk cargo
The Port of Latest Orleans reported total TEUs in January of 45,871, a 23% increase in comparison with the identical period last 12 months.
“January 2024 was a record month with 45,871 TEUs — a number we had not seen for the reason that second quarter of calendar 12 months 2021,” Kimberly Curth, Port of Latest Orleans spokeswoman, told FreightWaves. “In comparison with January 2023, loaded imports were up by 24% and loaded exports were up by 19%.”
Curth said the port’s total TEUs are up 13.4% for the fiscal 12 months.
“To support our empty supply, our import empties were up by 44% fiscal 12 months over 12 months,” Curth said.
Top import containerized commodities were plastic resins and miscellaneous chemicals. Exports through the port included coffee, furniture and wood products.
Breakbulk cargo totaled 86,503 short tons in January, a 35% y/y decline in comparison with the identical month in 2023. Top breakbulk imports proceed to be steel and natural rubber.
The port handled 8,708 Class I rail automobile switches in January, a 38% y/y decrease. The port handles switching operations for six Class I railroads: BNSF, CN, CSX, CPKC, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.
The port had 36 vessel calls in January, a 14% y/y increase in comparison with 2023.
The Latest Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB) board of commissioners also recently awarded a $2.2 million contract to Cycle Construction Co. for the NOPB Transloading Industrial Park project.
The commercial park will provide a site for shippers to reinforce the movement of freight between rail and truck across the U.S., port officials said.
“The Port of Latest Orleans and the NOPB proceed to supply multimodal infrastructure improvements to maneuver freight more efficiently through our global gateway,” said Brandy D. Christian, the CEO of the port and NOPB. “These upgrades not only offer customers and railroad partners a competitive edge, but additionally will help grow the economy and produce jobs to the region.”
Once accomplished, the transload yard can have the capability to service as much as 21 rail cars. Infrastructure improvements include three additional rail tracks, rail switching capabilities, drainage improvements and road upgrades.
Construction on the Transloading Industrial Park is scheduled to be accomplished by the top of the 12 months.
Port of Corpus Christi’s cargo volume results mixed
The Port of Corpus Christi in South Texas moved 16 million tons of cargo in January, a 2.4% y/y decrease from the identical month in 2023.
The port handled 9.74 million total tons of crude oil throughout the month, a 0.4% decrease in comparison with the identical year-ago period. Exports of crude oil for January were 8.9 million tons, a 1% decrease from last 12 months.
Shipments of petroleum totaled 5 million tons during January, a 6.7% y/y decrease. Exports of petroleum were 4.2 million tons for the month, a y/y decrease of 4.5%.
Dry bulk cargo totaled 634,662 tons throughout the month, a 24% y/y decrease. Shipments of bulk grain totaled 356,626 tons, a 357% y/y increase.
Shipments of chemicals totaled 185,792 tons in January, a 26% y/y decline.
The Port of Corpus Christi had 560 ship and barge calls in January, a 19.5% y/y decline from 2023.
The post Texas, Louisiana ports’ January cargo volumes a mixed bag appeared first on FreightWaves.