Category Archives: ports

5 Ways Houston Port Growth Impacts Texas infrastructure

Does increased Port of Houston traffic only translate to more cargo ships?  No, it also means:

  • strains on local roads with large trucks transporting cargo goods
  • strains on railroad infrastructure as railroads transport cargo goods
  • port channel dredging
  • maintaining sturdy docks
  • Port Infrastructure

What part of the country does the Port of Houston serve? The goal is to make the Port of Houston  “the distribution hub for the central U.S., from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi…

5 Economic Benefits of Ports from Senator Hinojosa

Senator Chuy Hinojosa highlights these economic benefits of ports:

  • Ports are economic drivers:
    • Generating $270 billion a year in economic activity
    • Generating $6 billion in state and local taxes per year
    • 1.4 million jobs
    • generate $82.8 billion in personal income
  • Ports of entry, and bridges, facilitate a $200 billion annual trade with Mexico
  • 3 of our ports are in the nation’s Top 10 by tonnage
    • #2 Houston
    • #4 Beaumont
    • #7 Corpus Christi (7th)
  • The #1 fresh produce port of entry…

New Senate Select Committee: Ports. Economic Competitiveness.

Members of the Senate Select Committee to study ports are:

  •  Brandon Creighton (chair)
  • Jose Menendez (vice chair)
  • Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa
  • Lois Kolkhorst
  • Eddie Lucio Jr.
  • Jane Nelson
  • Larry Taylor

Here’s what the committee is to study:

  • study the economic benefit of the Panama Canal expansion to Texas ports
  • Include in their study inland ports
  • Determine what will keep Texas ports comeptitive
  • “Senate is leading the charge to keep Texas the leader in exports and imports in our…

Lege: Addressing Bridge Safety and Efficiency Through Economic Inspectors

How did addressing a business interest help bridge traffic flow problems? Senate Bill 797/House Bill 979 from 2015 created a grant program to fund pay for more agricultural inspectors at Texas’ border bridges.

The grant fund program helps the agriculture business and the traffic flow on the bridges? Yes, by not slowing bridge traffic with understaffed agriculture inspectors, the congestion at international trade bridges is alleviated.

How does the money flow? The Texas Department of…

2015 House Interim Charges. 7 Committees. Funding. Tollroads. Self Driving Cars. Rail. Ports.

Transportation

Funding | Tollroads | THE INTERIM CHARGES

  • Appropriations: funding that accurately address transportation needs
  • County Affairs: private roadways from 2015’s Prop 5; is it undue competition between industry and counties or expand it?
  • Elections: local bond elections
  • Homeland Security & Public Safety: commercial motor vehicle violations, motor vehicle “two steps, one sticker”
  • Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence: examine the Texas Lemon Law
  • Transportation: roadway flows…

A New Revenue Generator for Texas Ports

Wind energy is providing added revenue to the Port of Corpus Christi. But there is a cost- the Port is running out of space to take in wind propelers and turbines.

The loading and unloading areas for turbines, blades and other wind-energy equipment take massive amounts of space.

The American Wind Energy Association says Texas ranks #1 in the country for both installed and under-construction wind capacity.

  • 18,000 wind-related jobs
  • Wind energy industry last year invested $3 billion in…

Corpus Port Grows and Grows. Garners National Attention.

“Officials at the Texas port are rethinking how they use their land amid a flurry of construction by energy companies and soaring volumes of oil and petroleum products moving through the port, Executive Director John LaRue said in an interview with WSJ Logistics Report. A 40% plunge in the price of crude in the last year hasn’t dented traffic, he said.”   

The details:

  • 560,000 barrels of oil leave the port each day (up from 300,000 barrels a year in 2011)
  • Shi…