At the Greater Houston Partnership 'State-of-the-Port' luncheon Wednesday, Port of Houston Authority Chairman James T. Edmonds announced that PHA's containerized cargo has shown growth over the last 12 months. This is especially good news since container cargo makes up about 70 percent of the port's cargo portfolio. Not being totally dependent on just one type of cargo has enabled PHA to weather the economic storm and prepare for the recovery.
Chairman Edmonds told a crowd of nearly 350 business leaders, elected officials and community leaders at the Westin-Galleria Hotel that 'while PHA did not avoid the effects of the global economic downturn, we are still outperforming almost every major U.S. port. We're definitely seeing a steady, month-to-month upward trend in almost all of our trade activity.'
The crowd enthusiastically responded to the introduction of PHA's new executive director, Alec Dreyer. Chairman Edmonds said 'Alec has already brought new energy to PHA.' Another high point of the presentation was when Edmonds spoke passionately about how PHA is able to count on the bipartisan support of the state and federal legislative delegations. An example of the bipartisan efforts was helping to secure $98.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for infrastructure projects for the Houston Ship Channel. Other examples include $3.47 million for the EPA's national Diesel Emissions Reduction (DERA) campaign aimed at reducing and repowering older diesel equipment. These funds benefit not only PHA, but the 150 private terminals along the channel. With a new executive director at the helm, some $200 million in capital improvement projects under way in 2009 and an additional $196 million anticipated for 2010, Edmonds said PHA is well-positioned for the economic recovery and for sustained economic success in the long term. PHA continues its lead in environmental and security initiatives and is maintaining a strong position in the market. The most recent economic study of the Port of Houston shows that ship channel-related businesses support more than 785,000 jobs throughout Texas while generating nearly $118 billion of statewide economic impact and more than $3.7 billion in state and local tax revenues.
