Steel up 60 percent through October at Houston

Steel tonnage for October was up 49 percent over last year and is up 60 percent in the first 10 months of this year. Dreyer said 4 to 4.1 million tons were projected for the end of 2011. Dreyer said October container activity was flat, unlike the normal increase in activity that we experience during the holiday season. He said grain also showed a deep decline as an effect of the drought. “All of the growth at the Turning Basin was related to steel movement,” he said. “We’ve seen a nearly 30-percent increase there, which correlates with the higher steel volumes.” Year to date, total ship arrivals for the Port Authority are up 3.3 percent.