IMPACTS OF CONTAINERSHIP SIZE, SERVICE ROUTES, AND DEMAND ON TEXAS GULF PORTS

This is the third report for Texas Department of Transportation Project 0-1833, which is assessing containership activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The research project, undertaken by the Center for Transportation Research of the University of Texas at Austin, was designed with two primary goals. First, the project was to address the planning, institutional, and financial issues associated with increased containerized freight traffic moving through Texas ports. The second goal was to assess the demand on the multi-modal transportation system in Texas, contingent upon the operation of very large containerships in the Gulf of Mexico. This second goal was later modified to address the impacts of all types of containerships calling at Texas ports, including mega-containerships. This report considers the impact of ship size, liner service routes, and container demand for Texas Gulf seaports serving containerships. In particular, it describes containership fleets, vessel choices, containership technology and costs, containership routes to gulf coast ports, and container demand. The report provides forecasts of future container demand in the North Atlantic and Gulf ports and summarizes the researchers' conclusions with respect to state transportation planning in Texas.