Port Houston steel imports increased by 17 percent and container activity grew by 3 percent over 2017, Executive Director Roger Guenther reported at the May Port Commission meeting. Guenther also stated that April was “another strong month” for cargo at port facilities.

Guenther noted that container import growth continues to be driven by business from the East Asia trade lanes, and a year-to-date total of 13 million tons of cargo has passed through Port Houston terminals, reflecting a 2 percent annual growth.

In other business news, Guenther announced that Port Houston had been added to MSC’s existing Indus service. That container service, which employs nine 8,400 TEU vessels, already calls the U.S. East Coast, India, and the Middle East via the Suez Canal, and will begin calling the Bayport Container Terminal in early June.

Guenther also added that Port Houston’s Barbours Cut Terminal is the first U.S. port of call for a new all-water service between the U.S. and Latin America. The new Gulf Ocean Express service is operated jointly by SeaLand and MSC.

Also during the meeting, DNV GL representatives presented Port Houston with a plaque for the port's continued achievements in environmental stewardship, recognizing its recent recertification to the Environmental Management System ISO 14001 standard at the May Port Commission meeting. In 2002, Port Houston became the first U.S. port authority to achieve the EMS ISO 14001 standard.