Those matters were decided during the Port Commission’s regular Dec. 13 meeting, where Port Commission Chairman Jim Edmonds announced that Port Authority CEO Alec G. Dreyer would not seek an extension of his three-year contract, which runs through September of 2012.
“Alec has done a great job,” Edmonds said, noting the CEO had exceeded budget expectations this year, with strong volumes being recorded. He also commented that he expected to provide a selection of search firms for review by the Port Commission at its January meeting.
Dreyer’s announcement was made after he received a letter from the Harris County District Attorney following an investigation requested by both Edmonds and Dreyer into claims that they had not acted in full compliance with state law. The DA’s letter vindicated Dreyer, explaining that he had acted appropriately and followed the law. The DA’s office also announced that there was no wrongdoing or improper conduct by Edmonds.
In a statement, Dreyer said, “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I have decided not to seek reappointment and rather to go back to the business world. I’m happy to serve until a replacement is found.”
Also during the meeting, representatives from the Baytown/West Chambers County Economic Development Foundation, Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership, Greater Houston Partnership, Houston Area Urban League, Houston East End Chamber of Commerce, Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and North Channel Area Chamber of Commerce shared the latest news about their organizations and thanked the Port Authority for its support.
In his monthly report, Dreyer said that in November, for the first time in several months, the Port Authority had strong operating results in both primary cargo categories: containers and steel.
Year-to-date, total ship arrivals for PHA are up 2.5 percent, he said. Barge traffic increased nearly 9.2 percent over last year for the first 11 months.
Container TEU volumes were up a robust 8.5 percent for the month. Year-to-date, container TEUs are up 3 percent overall.
“Our container performance in November contrasts sharply with the double-digit declines being experienced at West Coast ports,” Dreyer said. “As a measure of economic health, container tonnage was up a strong 9 percent. At this point, we can only assume that the typical holiday surge that we normally see in October just showed up one month later this year.”
Steel had another huge month in November with a total of 432,000 tons, nearly twice the level as in 2010. Year-to-date, steel is up 63 percent over last year and stands at 4 million tons, compared to a total for all of last year of just 2.7 million tons. Projected annual total will be around 4.2 million tons.
Dreyer noted that total G&A expenses were down from last year’s level by almost $4 million or nearly 9 percent, and commended officers and staff for “an excellent job in controlling our costs and focusing on financial performance.”
“Year-to-date, net income is about $13 million ahead of the original budget for the first eleven months of the year—again this is being driven primarily by the strong steel performance during the year,” he reported.