Port Houston’s FTZ and Economic Development department hosted 35 local economic development professionals for a workshop June 14. The workshop included a roundtable discussion, briefing and tour of the Bayport Container Terminal.

The event was designed for the port to engage with economic entities and stakeholders about their community development needs serving the Houston port region. Port Houston FTZ Program and Economic Development Manager Shane Williams and Economic Analyst Jordan Frisby provided presentations and updates.

“We have ample capacity at our container terminals for planned growth; We have seen a 15 percent increase in our container volume performance since 2016,” said Williams.

At Bayport and Barbours Cut, Port Houston has a total of 17 weekly direct container services from all over the world.

“Our goal is help these communities get started on these growing expansion projects. Houston and surrounding areas are great for building distribution centers and manufacturing for both importing and exporting. We have significant room for growth,” Frisby noted.

Major retailers such as Rooms to Go, IKEA, Home Depot and Walmart all have distribution centers in the Houston area.