Port Houston thrives in Q1

The U.S. Gulf Coast port handled 9.7 million tons of cargo during the first quarter of 2018, up 2 percent year-over-year, with bulk material and steel being the primary drivers of the growth.    Port Houston handled 9.7 million tons of cargo during the first quarter of 2018, up 2 percent from the corresponding 2017 period.
   Cargo showed year-to-date increases across all major lines, with bulk material and steel being the primary drivers for the growth, the port reported earlier this week.
   Container volumes for the quarter reached 617,000 TEUs, inching up 2 percent year-over-year.
   In terms of liner services, BlueWater Reporting’s Port Dashboard tool shows the port is called by 40 liner services that connect it to regions outside North America, including 17 fully cellular container services, 15 multi-purpose services, six services that deploy roll-on/roll off vessels or pure car/truck carriers, and two open hatch services.