A foggy month in Houston town

A foggy month in Houston town    The Port of Houston's February traffic was snarled by fog.
   Chief Executive Officer Alec G. Dreyer, in his monthly report to the Port Commission, said there were significant fog-related impacts throughout the port, including 11 consecutive days when port activities were adversely affected by fog delays or were shut down entirely.
   “Coming out of this lengthy fog slowdown, the Houston pilots handled a record 95 vessels in one day, a testament to their commitment to keeping the Houston Ship Channel open for business,” Dreyer said.
   The port said that despite the fog conditions, the port handled more than 230,000 tons of steel in February as compared to 125,000 tons in February 2010, an 84-percent increase.
   “Year to date, steel is up 740,000 tons or 69 percent over last year, giving us a nice boost going into the strong summer season,” Dreyer said. “Turning basin revenue for the first two months is up some 23 percent, which is directly related to the strong increase in steel.”
   The port says container volumes this year have been flat in the first two months of the year, but “looked reasonably strong through the first three weeks of the month,” and Dreyer predicted a return to a stronger growth mode by month’s end.
   In other activities, the commission awarded a $33.2 million construction contract to Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Inc. and a $1.1 million amendment to the authority’s contract with Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc., for work at the Bayport Container Terminal.