USDA partners with Port Houston to Support Container Chassis Supply

Helps establish a dedicated “terminal-use only” chassis program

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today its partnership with Port Houston to help establish a dedicated chassis pool system for “terminal use only” at Port Houston terminals.

Beginning earlier this year, Port Houston teamed with Frozen Protein Shipping Alliance to implement measures to address supply chain impacts. The program announced today helps do just that to improve service for shippers of U.S.-grown agricultural commodities and others.

According to the USDA, foreign sales of U.S. poultry and beef through the Port of Houston totaled a half-billion dollars in 2021. Still, limited availability of equipment can impact the export of these refrigerated cargos.

“This new program will help better match chassis supply with storage demand,” said Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther.

As expansion efforts continue at Port Houston, reefer racks (stacked refrigerated containers) are included in construction plans to provide even more refrigerated cargo capacity at the Barbours Cut and Bayport container terminals. These Port Houston public terminals handle nearly 70% of containerized cargo through the Gulf and is the sixth busiest container operation in the nation.

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient container terminals in the country. Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 public and private terminals, collectively known as the Port of Houston, is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the U.S. The 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 $801.9 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the website at PortHouston.com.