Port Houston had a strong second quarter, Executive Director Roger Guenther said at a Port Commission of the Port of Houston meeting.
“Port Houston has already handled nearly 20 million tons of cargo this year, reflecting an increase of 13 percent from the same period last year,” Guenther said.
During the same period, container volume grew 14 percent.
More than 1.7 million tons of steel have entered the port, representing an approximately 50 percent year-to-date increase.
At the meeting, the commissioners approved an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide information on weather, tides and water levels to users of the Houston Ship Channel.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Clean and Green Program. The port partnered with public agencies and companies to remove trash and debris from waterways before it reaches Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Partners include the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cleaning Buffalo Bayou from Shepherd Drive in Houston to the Port of Houston Turning Basin, Shell Oil Co., law enforcement, and Harris County criminal judges.
The program uses probationers assigned to community service to perform the cleaning.
Since the program began, more than 20,000 cubic yards of trash have been removed.