In the US Gulf, the Houston as No. 1 US port in foreign waterborne tonnage, has a 232mill. $ million Capital[ds_preview] Plan for 2020, focused primarily on container terminals, as well as Project 11, which is the name for the Houston Ship Channel Widening/Deepening project. That project has been under study by Port Houston and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the past four years, and now it is nearing completion, officials say. Plans call for widening the proposed Bay Reach segment from 530 feet to 700 feet and additional channel widening.
»Generally, infrastructure needs and funding for channel dredging are challenges ahead, but we and the industry are committed to collaboratively achieving this deepening goal because it will go a long way to ensuring long-term prosperity for everyone,« the port authority states. Widening the nation’s busiest waterway is planned to allow for improved two-way traffic. Houston has nearly 9,000 vessel calls and a total of more than 20,000 ship movements within the port.
As the country’s biggest breakbulk port, Houston has has handled a considerable amount of wind components in recent years. In 2019, the amount of wind power equipment handled totaled 54,229 short tons, which was »a big increase« from the previous year.
In addition, it was a record-setting year, just short of 3mill. TEUs. Officials are projecting continued growth given that the amount of resins being produced by petrochemical plants along the Houston Ship Channel continues to increase. As well, a 5% increase in containers in 2020 is projected, stemming from an increase in loaded export boxes. General cargoes also are showing growth, though steel volumes are softening.
