Modernisation at Houston

To this end, it just invested in four Konecranes dockside electric container cranes for Wharf No.1 at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal – but this is only part of the plan for modernisation.

The new cranes are part of a significant renovation underway at the port authority’s first container terminal which opened in 1977.

Houston has a US$700m project to modernise the facility. As well as new cranes, the terminal will also be kitted out with lights and dock improvements to provide more efficient cargo handling and give the port expanded capability to handle larger ships.

The port also stands to benefit from a brand new foreign trade zone (FTZ) and an expansion to the existing FTZ 84, which is already one of the largest FTZs in the US exporting more than US$5bn worth of goods annually.

Now is a good time to invest. The port’s cash flow from operating activities stands at US$22m while total cash stands at US$31m, up by $7m or 29% on the year. A lot of this is down to an increase in container movements.

Commission Chairman Janiece Longoria says that it’s now also a much safer time to invest since the International Longshoremen’s Association and the US Maritime Alliance have now agreed on a new, six-year contract putting an end to the long running labour dispute. “We couldn’t get the work done without their efforts,” she said.