Port Houston officials said container volumes, vessel movements and truck gate activity all reached record levels in 2025.

Freight traffic through the port underscored continued strength in cargo flows through the Houston Ship Channel, despite periodic weather and draft disruptions.

Port Houston handled 4.3 million TEUs in 2025, a 4% year-over-year increase and an all-time record for the public terminals, port officials said. Loaded container volumes also climbed 4%, driven by a 1% increase in imports and a 7% jump in export loads. Overall tonnage at public facilities rose 3% to 54.5 million tons, marking the highest import totals in port history.

Port Houston operates eight public terminals along the 52-mile Houston Ship Channel, including the Barbours Cut and Bayport container terminals, with the Turning Basin terminal serving as the upstream hub for breakbulk cargo.

“In 2025, we saw a 3% increase in overall tonnage at the public facilities, 54.5 million tons, the highest imports in history,” Charlie Jenkins, CEO of Port Houston, said during the monthly commission meeting on Tuesday. “We also had 4.3 million 20-foot equivalent units containers (TEUs), up 4% year over year, another port record. Overall loaded TEUs increased 4%, reflecting 1% growth in imports  and a 7% growth in the outbound loads, the export cargo.”

The port also set a combined terminal daily record in gate truck transactions of 16,438 in 2025.

At the Turning Basin facilities, steel tonnage was down 8% year over year to 4.2 million tons, but dry bulk tonnage increased 12% year over year, contributing to the record year for the overall public facilities, Jenkins said.

On the waterside, port staff reported that draft restrictions at Bayport and Barbours Cut were lifted in December and early January, following maintenance dredging and stretching work.

“I’m happy to report that as of today (Jan. 27) we are officially draft restriction free in all the Houston Channel and our ports,” Lori Brownell, the port’s chief infrastructure officer, said.

Looking ahead, Jenkins noted that new ship-to-shore cranes arriving at Barbours Cut and ongoing channel improvement projects are aimed at supporting higher container volumes and heavier ship calls as traffic through the port continues to grow.

“We have four very large ship-to-shore cranes anchored offshore in the Galveston harbor. Those are massive new cranes, are the biggest we’ve ordered, state-of-the-art. We’re very excited to have their delivery,” Jenkins said.

The cranes are scheduled to be delivered to the Barbours Cut Terminal this week, pending dock availability and weather conditions.

Once installed, the delivery will expand Barbours Cut’s ship-to-shore crane fleet from 13 to 17 units. Jenkins said another four cranes are already en route and expected to arrive within six to seven weeks, including three new units and one replacement for an older crane that has been dismantled, strengthening terminal capacity to meet growing cargo demand.

The Port of Corpus Christi said it moved 203.4 million tons of cargo in 2025, down 1.5% year over year, as softer crude oil and bulk volumes offset strong growth in liquefied natural gas exports.

LNG shipments rose 15.4% from 2024 to 18.6 million tons, while crude oil volumes declined 2.3% to 127.4 million tons, according to fourth-quarter and full-year results released Tuesday.

The port handled 50.1 million tons in the fourth quarter, compared with a record 54 million tons in the same period last year, with crude oil, refined products and LNG remaining the leading commodities.

Port officials also highlighted the completion of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project, which deepened the channel to 54 feet to accommodate larger vessels and support long-term energy export growth.

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