Summary:
- On July 8th, 2024, Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Houston, Texas as a Category 1 hurricane.
- Millions of people in Houston are out of power, and there is flooding in the area.
- As of now, the Port of Houston is closed while damage and repair assessments are underway. This closure has halted inbound vessel traffic and container processing. The port authorities plan to announce further actions on the evening of July 9th. In contrast, Corpus Christi has already reopened.
- Truckload On-Time Performance in the Houston area has been ultimately unimpacted so far, but volume levels are 60% lower than prior to the storm.
Hurricane Beryl Makes Landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane
On July 8th, 2024, Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Houston, Texas, as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm has left millions of people in the Houston area without power during a heatwave, which is expected to take days or even weeks to restore. Additional measures are being taken to mitigate risks of heat strokes and exhaustion. Over one foot of rain struck the area, causing widespread flooding. Flight delays and cancellations in Houston have spiked as the storm passes through and damage is cleared.
Vessels in Vicinity
Below is a map of the vessels in the vicinity of the ports impacted by Beryl, outlining over 250 vessels close to its path. These vessels are likely to face delays as they wait to moor at port.
As the map shows, this will predominantly impact tanker vessels. Texas is a powerhouse for gasoline for the United States, and this industry will likely be the first to feel impacts of service interruptions at the ports. Houston also serves as the major import port for the Gulf Coast and has seen astounding growth over the past few years as shippers looked for alternatives to congested West Coast ports and COVID-19 impacted East Coast ports. This comes at a particularly inopportune time as many retailers are currently in the process of importing holiday goods, marking the beginning of ocean shipping peak season.
Port of Houston
In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, the Port of Houston has announced that all terminals will remain closed as they assess and repair damage. An update on reopening will be provided at 4:00 Central Time on July 9th. Corpus Christi reopened fully on July 9th after a two-day closure.
As expected, inbound vessel count remains at zero for the Port of Houston. This will also be the case for July 9th and potentially going forward depending on the preliminary assessments of the port taking place now.
Dwell time also continues to be zero. This is due to the fact that no containers on the import or export side are being processed. We will see a spike in both import and export dwell as the port reopens and works through the backlog of containers currently at the port.
Truckload Impacts in Houston
Truckload shipments are susceptible to delays from hurricane-related road blocks and flooding. Despite these challenges, Houston has maintained performance levels in the truckload market.
On-time performance reached 77% by July 8th, up from 71% on July 5th before the storm. Although there has been a rapid recovery, daily loads are reduced by 60%, indicating potential service interruptions as volumes normalize.
Summary
Hurricane Beryl’s impact on Houston includes power outages affecting millions amid a heatwave, extensive flooding, and disruptions at the Port of Houston with terminals closed for repairs. Trucking operations have seen improved on-time performance post-storm but face reduced daily loads and potential service interruptions as recovery efforts continue.
Concern for Safety
While project44 has made it a priority to provide frequent updates on Tropical Storm Beryl and its impact to the supply chain, the safety of all people impacted by the storm remains top of mind. They and their families are in our thoughts, and we urge people to follow local guidelines for safety in these times.
About project44
project44 is on a mission to make supply chains work. Movement by project44, the only High-Velocity supply chain platform, enables shippers, LSPs and carriers across the globe to reduce costs, optimize operations, deliver an exceptional customer experience and drive greater resiliency and sustainability. Having built the industry’s largest and most connected ecosystem, project44 provides visibility into over 1 billion shipments annually for over 1,300 of the world’s leading brands.
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Disclaimer: The information conveyed herein, shared solely for summary and not contractual purposes, comes from both project44 and third-party reporting. The project44 data does not include all available market information, and project44 has not undertaken to independently verify the third-party reporting. Similarly, this type of data changes from day-to-day. Accordingly, the reader should not rely on this reporting to make any business decisions, and project44 expressly disavows any liability arising from any such reliance.
