The News
Port Houston handled 376,419 TEU in September, 11% more than a year earlier, as loaded imports rose 16% to 174,189 TEU. The first nine months are up only 2%, after what CEO Charlie Jenkins called a “pretty rough start” to the year.
Loaded exports rose 2% to 132,009 TEU. Empty containers shipped out rose 31% to 55,963 TEU.
Steel imports reached 539,993 tons, up 181%. Total cargo tonnage rose 15% to 4.88 million tons.
The details
Imports carried the month, and they have held steady since March. Loaded imports have run between about 163,000 and 188,000 TEU a month since then, so most of the 16% jump comes from a soft September 2025, when they fell to 150,526 TEU.
Loaded imports are up 6% for the year, to 1.56 million TEU. Loaded exports are down 1%.
Total volume fell from August to September in each of the last two years, by 10% in 2024 and 9% in 2025. This year it rose 1%.
Empty boxes leaving Houston grew far faster than loaded exports. The port took in 42,180 more loaded TEU than it shipped out in September. Another 55,963 TEU left empty.
Empties were 15% of everything the port handled in September.
Port officials expect exports to catch up. Port Houston’s Ryan Mariacher described “a long-anticipated surge in export volumes” in the second half of September and the first half of October.
A new ocean service, a wider channel and project cargo added to the month. “We started a new container and reefer service in September, and more services are being negotiated today,” said Port Houston’s Eric Casey. The carrier was not named.
Project 11 widened the ship channel through Galveston Bay from 530 to 700 feet, letting larger ships call. Ships limited to daylight transits gained about two and a half hours a day. Planning for Project 12 is under way.
Steel imports nearly tripled against a weak September 2025 but are up 1% for the year. Steel imports and exports together topped 581,000 tons, the most in a month since May 2022.
Construction, manufacturing and energy projects brought in breakbulk, including large electrical equipment moving on by rail. General cargo imports are up 51% this year, to 942,195 tons.
The West Coast grew faster in September. Flexport said in May that cargo was shifting toward East and Gulf Coast ports, especially Houston and Virginia. In September, Los Angeles and Long Beach both set monthly records and outgrew Houston for the month and the year.
For the first nine months, Long Beach is up 3.9%, Los Angeles 3.4% and Houston 2.4%.
My notes
Houston’s steady number is loaded imports. The total swings with empties and exports, so a 2% year hides a 6% rise in the loaded boxes importers bring in. For anyone routing Asia freight into Texas and the Midwest, that steady flow is the reason to keep Houston in the bid.
What’s next
October numbers come next month and will show whether the export pickup Mariacher described held into the fourth quarter.
(Photo: Port Houston)
