Gate Outage at Port Houston: Authorities Estimate Thursday Opening

The Port of Houston has experienced a software outage preventing drayage truck traffic from entering the port for two days.

A severe technology failure began Tuesday morning and restricted drayage activity at the port’s Bayport and Barbours Cut terminals. Container movement out of the terminals has ground to a halt as port operators attempt a slow recovery of systems.

Port Authorities have optimistic news, however, estimating a return to normal operations by Thursday.

Another Delay for U.S. Ports

The incident is set to throw yet another wrench into an already burdened port system. According to JOC.com, the affected terminals move between 4,000 and 5,000 containers per day. We can expect that up to 10,000 units have been delayed by the outage.

It is the latest in a string of delays for coastal ports. Just last week, Union Pacific halted container departures from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Its seven-day service suspension allowed UP to clear out backlogs at its Chicago railyard while simultaneously stranding tens of thousands of containers on the west coast.

Scarbrough International is watching this situation and will supply updates as they become available. Contact your Scarbrough representative if you have concerns about potentially affected cargo.