Port of Houston’s box volumes remain flat

Meanwhile, the Port Commission approved a $4 million modernized gate system contract for trucks that will include optical character recognition technology to identify and track containers, chassis and tractors.    Container volumes at the Port of Houston inched up 1 percent year-over-year in September to 185,442 TEUs, while year-to-date, volumes have remained flat, the Port of Houston Authority said Wednesday.
   The port authority expects the fourth quarter peak season to push container traffic for 2016 past last year’s record of 2 million TEUs.
   The Port of Houston handled 1.65 million TEUs through September – 2,500 more standard shipping units, or 0.1 percent , more than the first nine months of 2015.
   September’s throughput was boosted by a 26 percent gain in empty import boxes (14,888 TEUs) and a 4 percent gain in loaded imports (83,371 TEUs). Loaded exports fell 5 percent to 72,335 TEUs.
   Meanwhile, the Port Commission on Monday approved a $4 million contract for a modernized gate system for trucks that will include optical character recognition technology to identify and track containers, chassis and tractors at the Bayport and Barbours Cut terminals. The new gate system is expected to help speed up truck transactions.