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The port of Houston has today announced that ship arrivals at its port authority facilities rose by 5.6 percent last year in comparison with 2009.

The statistic will be good news for local bunker players as an increase in vessel arrivals is usually a reliable indicator that bunker volumes have also risen during the same period. Bunker volumes at Houston, the largest bunker supply port on the US Gulf Coast, are estimated to be 2.5-3 million tonnes per year.

In his monthly financial report, CEO Alec G. Dreyer noted that barge traffic had also shown significant growth in 2010 and was up 17 percent in December year-on-year.

Dreyer said that December was a good month for the port authority in steel and containers, with improvements in other cargo categories as well.

The port authority handled 249,000 tons of steel in December 2010 – more than twice the year-ago levels with an increase of 174 percent.

"For the year, steel finished 2 percent above the 2009 level based upon strong growth in the last nine months of 2010," Dreyer said. "At present, we expect a 13-to-14 percent increase in steel volumes in 2011 over 2010, with the annual level approaching 3.1 million tonnes."

Dreyer also noted that container revenue was up a robust 12 percent in December, reflecting the strong growth in loaded units for the month. For 2010, container revenue was up 11 percent compared to 2009, with container tonnage up 10 percent for that period.

Turning basin revenue was up 25 percent for December, in line with the incremental amount of steel handled last year compared to 2009. For 2010, turning basin revenue was up 8 percent over the previous year, reflecting the strong finish to the year for steel volumes.