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Port of Houston, Texas—Water Gateway
The
maritime Port of Houston was the nation’s fourth busiest waterborne
freight gateway for international trade by value of shipments in
2003. It ranked eleventh overall among all land, water, and air
gateways with nearly $50 billion of international freight moving
through it. This amount of trade represents about 6 percent of the
value of U.S. international waterborne freight shipments and 3
percent of the total value of U.S. international merchandise trade
by all modes of transportation.
By weight, the facility is ranked first among all
U.S. water gateways. In 2003, the port handled a total of 126
million tons of freight or 10 percent of all U.S. international
waterborne tonnage. Houston primarily handles noncontainerized bulk
products, which typically are heavy, high-volume products, such as
ore, grain, or oil, as compared to specialized products
transported via containers. This explains why the Port of
Houston ranks first by weight.
There were 4,900 vessel calls made to the Port
of Houston in 2003, of which 54 percent were tanker ships, and 15
percent were container ships. The port handled a total of 0.9
million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
Of the 126 million tons shipped through the
Port of Houston, 71 percent were inbound shipments valued at
$28 billion (about $317 per ton) while the exports, accounting for
29 percent of tonnage, were valued at $21 billion (about $591 per
ton). This highlights the higher value per ton of merchandise
exported as compared to imported through this port.
Mexico was the top trading partner for inbound
and outbound shipments at the gateway, accounting for 34 million
short tons. The top-five origin countries for imports and top-five
destination countries for exports accounted for 47 percent of all
tonnage moving through the Port of Houston. The Port of Cayo Arcas,
Mexico is the largest origin point for imports while the Port of
Tuxpan, Mexico is the major destination for exports followed by
Antwerp, Belgium.
Between 1999 and 2003, the value of goods
moving through the Port of Houston increased by over 47
percent—29 percent for exports and 65 percent for imports.
During the same period, the tonnage of international merchandise
trade through the port increased by 25 percent.
The major commodities imported through this
gateway include petroleum and petroleum products, crude fertilizers
and minerals, organic chemicals; and iron and steel. The major
commodities exported through this port include petroleum and
petroleum products; organic chemicals, cereals, and cereal
products; and plastics.1
1 Commodities information available at http://www.portofhouston.com/busdev/tradestatistics.html as of Nov. 16, 2004
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