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Topping the list of plans for the future
is Houston's ongoing transformation from
regional port to gateway port to America's
Midwest.
"For many years Houston was more
of a regional port serving the state of
Texas. We have been working very hard to
change that to focus on middle America.
We look at our hinterland now as being anything
in between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi
River," Mr Kunz said.
This hinterland that Mr Kunz speaks of
covers roughly 100 million people, or approximately
one-third of the population of the United
States. And that is precisely why so many
ports view this region as crucial to their
business.
But despite operating in this highly
competitive market, Mr Kunz is well aware
of his port's strengths and is therefore
confident of ongoing growth for many years
to come.
"We are centrally located. We've
got an excellent highway system, both interstate
and up to middle America. We've got Union
Pacific (UP). We've got Burlington Northern
Santa Fe (BNSF). We're working with them
all of the time, trying to develop the train
services moving north, and it is working
well," Mr Kunz said.
In total there are currently 94 trains
departing from the Port of Houston every
week. And with ongoing discussions with
both UP and BNSF the Port Authority expects
to see an increase in the number of rail
services per week as the volumes transiting
through Houston continue to grow.
As noted earlier, BCOs are also seeing
the value of Houston. The Port Authority
is also actively engaging these customers
to explain the advantages of establishing
distribution centres near Houston.
"Many of the major retailers have
come here and set up DCs so that they can
supply not only the state of Texas, but
further out as well. As time moves along,
we're also moving our boundaries out, going
further and further. So that is our goal
to serve middle America, as well as the
state of Texas," the vice president
said.
In spite of the increased focus on serving
a deeper hinterland, the state of Texas
still provides the port with a very significant
and growing consumer base, and a comparatively
robust economy compared with the rest of
the United States.
"We [Texas] were the last ones into
it [the recession] and we were the first
ones out. So we have been very fortunate
to have a bit more of a robust economy here,"
he said.
Looking specifically at the state of
Texas, the port serves a local population
base of roughly 25 million people, with
six million alone living in the immediate
Houston area. And that number is expected
to grow significantly as more of the American
population is drawn to the state.
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