HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Port Houston Commission Chairman Ric Campo delivered the 2019 State of the Port Address to the Greater Houston Partnership Thursday. He reported a record-setting year for the greater Port of Houston. Campo also stressed the urgency to widen and deepen the Houston Ship Channel as the priority for the greater Port of Houston. This federal waterway that is comprised of more than 200 public and private facilities is known as the Energy Capital of the World.
“The Port of Houston is a strategic lifeline and asset for the national economy,” Campo said during his remarks. The Houston Ship Channel receives more deep-draft calls than the three largest U.S. ports combined.
“We are in a race with the economic forces and limitations of commerce if we cannot find ways to deepen and widen the Houston Ship Channel,” he said.
Campo highlighted the efforts of partnership and people as the foundation of continued success for the busiest waterway in the nation. He connected the 2019 fiftieth anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 11 Moon Mission to the Houston Ship Channel’s Project 11, which endeavors to widen and deepen the channel on an accelerated timeline to accommodate the larger vessels calling the greater Port of Houston.
“People made it possible then, and they make achievement possible today,” he said. “We each play a role and embody the can-do spirit that Houston is known for.”
Campo stressed the need to expand the ship channel to continue exporting energy commodities and importing cargo at a rate to keep up with national and international economic needs. “Delays will result in supply chain disruption that impacts our economy,” he said.
Home to the largest petrochemical complex in the world, the greater Port of Houston is a hub of the nation’s pipeline network. The safe and efficient movement of oil and gas products through the port is a significant factor in building a strong and independent base for fuel and petroleum-based products in North America, and beyond, Campo said during his remarks.
“Even with the amazing skillset of the Houston Pilots, there is no question that a wider channel is a safer channel,” he said.
Port Houston is currently the fastest-growing of the top ten container ports in the United States. Many of the products people use every day are delivered from a shipping container transported through the Port of Houston. “Chances are the coffee on your table to the clothes you put on today – came at one point through the Houston Ship Channel on a container,” Campo said.
He concluded his remarks describing the success of Houston Ship Channel’s Project 11 as a defining moment for the nation, the state of Texas, and Houston.
Following the address, Port Houston launched a new microsite providing more information about the Houston Ship Channel Project 11. Details are available at this link: www.expandthehoustonshipchannel.com
About the greater Port of Houston and the Houston Ship Channel
The greater Port of Houston is more than 200 terminals along the 52-mile long Houston Ship Channel. These private and public terminals are vital to the economic growth and future of the region and the nation collectively sustains:
- 3.2 million jobs, 1.4 million jobs in Texas alone
- $802 billion in annual national economic value, $339 billion in state economic value
- $38 billion in tax revenue
- #1 U.S. port for exports, energy, and petrochemical manufacturing
- 22,000 deep-draft vessel transits each year
- Supports 200+ industrial facilities
Port Houston Highlights:
Port Houston is responsible for the business operations of the eight public terminals along the Houston Ship Channel. The Authority reinvests a significant portion of the revenue earned through the eight public terminals back into the business for infrastructure improvement projects that fuel economic growth.
Port Houston’s 2018 business operations report:
- 41 million total tonnage at terminal facilities
- 4.5 million in steel tonnage
- 9,400 average daily gate transactions
Port Houston 2018 Financials Report:
- Record annual cash flow of $176 million
- Record operating revenue of $366 million
About Port Houston
For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals of the greater Port of Houston – the nation’s largest port for foreign waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the U.S. nation. The greater Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.35 million jobs in Texas and 3.2 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $339 billion in Texas – 20.6 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) – and total of $801.9 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit https://porthouston.com/.
