Shipping to Port of Houston

The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The Port of Houston is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. Located in the fourth-largest city in the United States, the Port of Houston is the busiest port in the U.S. in terms of foreign tonnage and the second-busiest in the U.S. in terms of overall tonnage. Though originally the Port of Houston’s terminals were primarily within the Houston city limits, the port has expanded to such a degree that today it has facilities in multiple communities in the surrounding area. In particular the Port of Houston’s busiest terminal, the Barbours Cut Terminal, is located in Morgan's Point.

The Port of Houston is a cooperative entity consisting of both the port authority, which operates the major terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, and more than 150 private companies situated along Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. Many petroleum corporations have built refineries along the channel where they are partially protected from the threat of major storms in the Gulf of Mexico. The petrochemical complex associated with the Port of Houston is one of the largest in the world.

The Houston Ship Channel is experiencing tremendous growth. The Houston region, the country’s No. 1 region for exports, is home to the largest petrochemical manufacturing complex in the Americas. Energy production and the export of crude oil, along with the increasing global demand for chemicals produced in the region, are major drivers of this success for the Port of Houston.

Largely because of petrochemical activity along the 52-mile ship channel, the nearly 200 private companies that make up the Greater Port of Houston have helped make the port the No. 1 U.S. port in waterborne tonnage. Petroleum and petroleum products are leading import and export commodities at the Port of Houston.