Houston port buys 4 dockside cranes

   The Port of Houston Authority’s port commission has ordered four dockside electric container cranes from Konecranes Finland Corp. as part of a $700 million plan to modernize the 36-year-old Barbours Cut Container Terminal.
   The cranes will be installed at Wharf No. 1.
   Konecranes was selected as the winning bidder during a recent meeting of the port authority. At the meeting, Commission Chairman Janiece Longoria also announced a trade partnership with the Port of Istanbul.  
   The renovation, which is currently underway, will also include lights and dock improvements. The port authority’s Foreign Trade Zone 84 — the largest in the nation in terms of value of goods — will also be expanded as part of the project, and a new FTZ subzone will be created.
   March tonnage at the port rose 6 percent, year over year, on a 97,000-ton increase in containers. For the first three months of the year, the total activity of 8.7 million tons represents a 2-percent increase over last year’s results. But while containers have shown sharp increases this year, steel has decreased by 20 percent, year to date.
   For the first three months of the year, the port’s operating revenue is up by 6 percent to $57.5 million. Revenue for last month, however, showed a 7-percent drop. Net income so far this year is at $16.5 million. – Jon Ross