U.S. seaports are facing the challenges of diminished cargo volumes and decreasing revenues as global trade continues on a downward trend. Reflecting the national recession, container trade imports are expected to fall 18 to 20 percent in September and October. By the end of the year, however, some improvement is expected, as the numbers are predicted to move from double digit to single digit declines.

The Port of Houston, in the midst of the global economic downturn, is facing declining imports and exports as well. However, in a speech before the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in August, Wade Battles, Acting Executive Director of the Port of Houston Authority(PHA), said that the Port had not experienced as much of a decline as other ports around the country. He believes the Port of Houston will slowly return to previous levels and is confident it can outperform other ports.

Recent stimulus funding has given the Port a boost in closing its budget shortfall and maintaining operations. In April, Congress allocated $98.3 million in stimulus funding for the Houston Ship Channel under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to the PHA, it is “one of the largest-ever single allocation of federal funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct, operate and maintain the Houston Ship Channel.” James Edmonds, PHA Chairman, said that the stimulus funds “will bring about jobs creation, help develop and maintain an efficient flow of commerce and generate energy and income that is vital, not only to the region’s economy, but the nation as a whole.”

The PHA has also managed to secure funding from the EPA to reduce diesel emissions in drayage trucks. According to the Port, “eight other Houston Ship Channel industries are the recipients of more than $3.47 million in an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Clean Diesel Campaign that provides funding through the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA), as part of the recently enacted nationwide economic stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

The Port of Houston Authority has also become involved in several workforce development initiatives it says will result in filling its need for well-trained individuals in the maritime and energy industries. It has formed a partnership that includes San Jacinto College, East Harris County Manufacturers Association, Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, Harris County Precinct 2, the Houston Pilots Association and the Houston Maritime Museum to help establish the International Maritime and Energy Center of Houston (IMEC). The Center will serve as an educational and training facility that will also include commercial activities and house the maritime museum. San Jacinto College has allocated a portion of its bond funds toward the training facility, and Rep. Gene Green has requested $625,000 from Congress to help fund the Center.

In addition, the Port Authority recently instituted the Maritime Academy to offer maritime studies to high school and college students. The program will have a four-year curriculum developed by the U.S. Maritime Administration. High school students will choose career paths in the fields of mariners, shipbuilding and port operations. They will be given the opportunity to earn dual-course credits at local community colleges and universities. Two HISD high schools, Stephen F. Austin and Jack Yates, have been selected to become part of the Maritime Academy, and will begin offering the curriculum this fall. Texas Southern University and the Port of Houston Authority are also in the process of creating Houston’s first university degree program related to maritime transportation and security.

Educators and employers alike have praised the Port Authority’s intiatives in promoting studies to develop a trained workforce for the maritime industries. Former HISD Superintendent Dr. Abelardo Saavedra saw the maritime programs as completing an “educational path” from high school to a university degree, leading to “a career in a field that is rapidly expanding.” Many in the maritime industry believe that when the economy begins to recover, demands on Texas’ ports will increase and workers with skills and capabilities will be in short supply. The Port Authority says its programs will address the growing need for such a trained workforce in the maritime and energy sectors.