In his monthly report at the July 26 Port Commission meeting, Chief Executive Officer Alec G. Dreyer said that steel continued its strong growth in June, but container operations saw a dip from last year's levels during the short summer lull for customers.



Even though container tonnage was down in June approximately 2 percent, it is up for the first half of the year over 7 percent, which he said is a good indication that the Texas economy is continuing to perform at a pace ahead of the rest of the nation.

"It means the container liner companies that service Houston are handling more vessels with higher profitability — more cargo per ship — and in the long run, this means the Texas economy is expanding," Dreyer said.



Steel tonnage for June was 442,000 tons, nearly three times the level of June 2010. For the first six months of this year, steel has increased over last year by 886,000 tons or 86 percent. The monthly total for July is expected to be nearly half a million tons.



"Turning Basin revenue was up 38 percent in June and is up 31 percent for the first half of the year, directly attributable to the much higher levels of steel this year over last," Dreyer said. "Turning Basin revenue is also ahead of budget by some 8 percent overall."