CONTAINER TRAFFIC UP 8% AT PORT OF HOUSTON

CONTAINER TRAFFIC UP 8% AT PORT OF HOUSTON       Container volume at the port of Houston increased by 8 percent in the first six months of the year, to 568,911 TEUs, from 522,111 TEUs in the same period last year.
   Measured in tons, container traffic grew to nearly 5.2 million tons, about 7.6 percent more than in the same period of 2001.
      In the first six months of 2002, bulk grain shipments increased 33 percent on movement of approximately 1.1 million tons through the Port of Houston Authority’s facilities, compared to approximately 865,870 tons during the same period in 2001. In addition, tonnage at the Bulk Materials Handling Plant increased 35 percent to just over 2 million tons of Pet Coke, compared to approximately 1.5 million tons handled in the first six months of 2001.
      Exported bagged cargoes totaled 220,483 tons for the first six months of 2002 compared to 204,948 tons for 2001, an increase of 8 percent.
   The port of Houston said that it moved up two spots in the world’s ranking of ports, and is now the sixth largest port in the world, based on fiscal year 2000 total cargo tonnage reported by the American Association of Port Authorities.
   In a separate development, effective July 1, the port’s commissioners have reduced steel import tariff rates from $2.32 to $1.65 to stimulate steel imports that have been affected by new import trade tariffs introduced by the Bush administration.