Port of Houston Breaking Cargo Records

"The Port of Houston Authority is predicting record levels of cargo this year, as more steel and cargo containers pass over its docks," reports Sarah Scully.

"As of June, nearly 20 million tons had come through the port, Port of Houston Authority Executive Director Roger Guenther said this week. Steel and cargo containers led the growth, he said, with 20 percent more containers moving through Barbours Cut and the Bayport Container Terminal than last year, and a 26 percent rise in steel imports."

Scully notes that the growth is occurring even as the oil industry, with its roots in Houston, has struggled in recent months, the diversity of the global economy is still managing to buoy the growth of container traffic through the Port of Houston.

The article also notes that the Port of Houston is spending $68 million to deepen and widen the Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals in anticipation of an project that will soon allow larger ships through th Panama Canal.