WASHINGTON: Texas legislators have given final approval to a bill that shippers of synthetic resins and other heavy containerized commodities say would cut their transportation costs by allowing them to pack more cargo into containers moving through Port Houston. If Gov. Greg Abbott signs the bill as expected, the bill would take effect next Jan. 1. It would authorize permits for maximum truck weights of 93,000 pounds for truck-trailer combinations with six axles, or 100,000 pounds with seven axles, for containerized imports or exports moving on designated roads within 30 miles of the port. Truck weights have been debated in Texas for years, but the issue has drawn increased attention as petrochemical producers have invested more than $100 billion in new Gulf Coast production to take advantage of cheap natural gas feedstocks that have turned the US into the world’s low-cost producer.
Annual resin exports from the Gulf are forecast to rise by some 500,000 TEU during the next few years. Houston, which now handles about 45 percent of US seaborne resin exports, hopes to expand its volume and market share but faces stiff competition. Resin packagers have been working with Union Pacific and BNSF railroads to develop intermodal routes using bulk-to-container packaging and transfer facilities in Dallas-Fort Worth. Charleston and other South Atlantic ports also are competing for intermodal resin exports, as is New Orleans on the Gulf. Supporters of the higher truck weights, led by petrochemical producers such as ExxonMobil Chemicals, say allowing heavier shipments to and from Port Houston will encourage shipments through the port from local plants.
Current weight limits at Houston are 80,000 pounds, or 84,000 pounds with permits. The increased limits will allow producers and packagers to load up to 27 tons in a 40-foot container, instead of the current 22 to 23 tons. Railroads, towns and cities around Port Houston, and labor organizations opposed the legislation but failed to halt the legislation or to cripple it with amendments. The Texas House of Representatives accepted the key provisions of a Senate-passed bill after nearly four hours of debate. The bill’s final version sets a $6,000 annual fee for permits allowing heavier truck weights for containerized imports and exports on designated corridors within 30 miles of a port. Fifty percent of the money would go to the state highway funds, 30 percent to counties with the routes, 16 percent to municipalities, and 4 percent to the Texas Department of Transportation for administration.