Imports of steel, plywood, and bagged goods, as well as petroleum and crude oil exports, boosted Gulf Coast ports in October.
Imports to Port Houston are increasing significantly.
According to port officials, container volume increased by 13% in October, owing to increased demand for bagged goods, plywood, and auto imports.
Port Chairman Ric Campo stated that there is no evidence of “softening” demand at the port in 2022.
“Our volumes remain strong — we continue to hear about volume softening across the country, but that hasn’t happened here,” Campo said at the port’s November meeting. “Three of our best months ever occurred in the last three months with increased volume at Port Houston.”
Port Houston handled 371,994 twenty-foot equivalent units for the month, a 13% increase over 2021.
Overall, container volume at Port Houston’s terminals is up 18% year to date, totaling 3.3 million TEUs.
Bagged goods, which increased by 239% in October, were among the items that significantly increased.
According to a news release, plywood is up 73%. Imports of automobiles increased 61% year on year in October and 9% year to date.
Steel imports fell in October, the first time the commodity has fallen year on year since June 2021.
In October, steel imports fell 20% yearly to 295,334 tons. Steel import volumes are up 63% yearly compared to the same period in 2021, totaling 4.4 million tons.
Loaded container exports were up 25% year on year in October, totaling 118,781 TEUs. Total import container volume increased 20% year on year to 181,292 TEUs.
In October, Port Houston received 696 ship calls, a 2% decrease from last year. In addition, the port handled 245 barges in October, a 29% decrease from October 2021.
Breakbulk and container volumes are increasing at the Port of New Orleans.
The Port of New Orleans saw increased breakbulk and container cargo volumes in October, thanks to shipments of steel, rubber, and coffee, according to officials.
In October, the port recorded total breakbulk tonnage of 150,313 short tons. In comparison to the same period in 2021, the port has seen a 38% increase in breakbulk cargo year to date.
“Commodity-wise, steel remains our top breakbulk import, and rubber ranks second,” Port of New Orleans spokeswoman Kimberly Curth told FreightWaves. “In October, we received a 40-meter-long steel pipe discharged to the dock and reloaded onto a barge and a third breakbulk coffee vessel.”
In October, the port received 18 breakbulk vessel calls, the same as in September.
Container cargo totaled 41,934 TEUs for the month, up 19% from September and 8% year to date compared to last year.
“We had 32 container vessel calls in October,” Curth said, “the most this fiscal year.” “This indicates market dynamics, including ocean freight pricing and demand, have shifted to favor exporters.” We are hopeful that this trend will continue in the coming months.”
In October, the port handled 29,384 Class I railcar switches. The port handles switching operations for New Orleans’ six Class I railroads BNSF Railway, CN, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific.
Corpus Christi’s port sets a tonnage record.
During the third quarter, the Port of Corpus Christi in South Texas moved a record 48.3 million tons of commodities, a 4% increase over the previous record set in the second quarter of 2022.
According to port officials, the growth was primarily due to strong exports of US crude oil to Western European buyers who have shifted away from Russian imports.
“Moving America’s energy to other U.S. demand centers and our overseas allies and trading partners has never been more critical for our economic and national security in these times of uncertainty,” Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge said in a news release.
Crude oil shipments totaled 28.7 million tons in the third quarter, a 5% increase over the previous record set in the second quarter.
Total tonnage for refined products was 8.3 million tons in the third quarter, 4.2 million tons for liquefied natural gas, and 2.1 million tons for dry bulk cargo.
The Port of Corpus Christi handled 16.8 million tons of cargo in October, a 15% increase over the same month in 2021.
Crude oil shipments totaled 10.3 million tons in October, a 24% increase yearly. Crude oil exports totaled 9.4 million tons for the month, a 25% increase over the same month last year.
In addition, the port handled 5.5 million tons of petroleum in October, a 10% increase over the same month last year. Petroleum exports for the month totaled 4.3 million tons, a 4% increase over the same period last year.
In October, the Port of Corpus Christi received 733 ship calls, a 32% increase from 2021.
Container cargo at the Port of Mobile has increased by 5%.
Despite a slight slowdown following the holiday shipping rush, October was the Port of Mobile’s second-highest monthly container volume total month in its history.
The Alabama port handled 45,990 TEUs in October, a 5% increase over the same month last year.
“With 467,222 TEUs moved year to date, 2022 volumes are 12.8% higher than 2021 volumes at this point,” Port of Mobile spokeswoman Maggie Oliver told FreightWaves.
The port recorded 52,911 TEUs in September, the highest monthly container volume total for the year.
Intermodal rail freight volumes are up 143% year to date compared to the same period last year, according to Oliver, while refrigerated cargo shipments are up 11.3% year to date.
