For the second year, Port Houston was the host port for the JOC Gulf Shipping Conference, a three-day industry forum organized by IHS Markit and JOC Events.

Approximately 360 beneficial cargo owners, ports, carriers, shippers, freight forwarders and trucking representatives along the Gulf Coast attended the event to discuss the latest market trends and solutions for shipping.

Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther provided welcome remarks to the crowd. “This conference emphasizes the opportunities here in the Gulf,” said Guenther.

Guenther also served on a panel of container port leaders.

During the panel discussion, Guenther highlighted the port’s two container facilities, Bayport and Barbours Cut. “Master planning is something that we continue to do on the container side,” he said.

The port has invested $700 million in modernization of its container terminal facilities and assets.

“We want to be sure that we capitalize on this future growth. The container volumes that we’ve seen over the last few years have been phenomenal,” noted Guenther.

An exclusive tour of Katoen Natie’s Houston Polymers Terminal in La Porte also was offered to attendees of the conference. The terminal is one of the largest resins warehousing and packaging facilities in the region with 1.8 million square feet of warehousing space.

The conference was held May 14-16 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Houston.