Port Houston reported a record-breaking year for container handling in 2025, but steel and other general cargo volumes took a hit over the year.
At Port Houston’s multipurpose terminals, steel volumes hit 4.17 million tonnes in 2025, a decline of 8 percent. General cargo volumes finished 6 percent below 2024 levels.
Annual container volumes totalled 4,303,345 teu in 2025, a 4 percent increase over 2024. Loaded exports increased 7 percent in 2025, while loaded imports increased 1 percent for the year.
The diverging performance reflects, in part, a challenging geopolitical and trade environment. The introduction of steel tariffs in March 2025 appears to have weighed on steel volumes. The US administration’s broader reciprocal tariff regime also prompted some shippers to front-load containerised cargo in the first half of the year.
