How container drayage works in Houston
Nearly all Houston containers move through two Port Houston terminals, Barbours Cut and Bayport, about 25 miles east of downtown on the Ship Channel. Exports are a big part of the work, especially plastic resin from the area's chemical plants.
- Terminals
- Barbours Cut (Morgan's Point) and Bayport (Seabrook)
- Exports
- Resin packed at transload warehouses near the channel
- Rail ramps
- UP Settegast and BNSF Pearland
- Warehouses
- Baytown, La Porte, Pasadena and the north and west sides
More about drayage in Houston
Almost every ocean container that moves through Houston starts or ends its trip at one of two terminals run by Port Houston: Barbours Cut at Morgan's Point and Bayport near Seabrook. Both sit at the bay end of the Houston Ship Channel, roughly 25 miles east of downtown, which shapes the local market.
A typical import move is a drive from the terminal gate to a distribution center in Baytown, La Porte, Pasadena or the north and west sides of the metro, followed by an empty return to the same terminal or to a depot the steamship line names.
Houston is also unusual among US ports because exports carry a large share of the work. The region's chemical plants turn out plastic resin pellets that are packed into containers at transload warehouses near the channel and sent overseas, so carriers here spend a lot of time positioning empty containers to packaging facilities and hauling full, heavy export loads back to the terminals before the cargo cutoff.
Inland, the metro is served by two Class I railroads. Union Pacific runs its Houston intermodal ramp at Settegast Yard in the northeast of the city, and BNSF operates the Houston Intermodal Facility in Pearland to the south.
Rail-served containers and domestic 53-foot boxes from Los Angeles, Chicago and Mexico arrive at these ramps and need local drayage for the final miles, which is a different job from port work: different gate rules, different equipment owners and often a different set of trucking companies.
2
Marine terminals
2
Rail ramps
Railroads
Union Pacific · BNSF · CPKC · Port Terminal Railroad Association
Main highways
I-10 · I-45 · I-69 / US-59 · I-610 · Beltway 8 · SH-225 · SH-146 · SH-99 Grand Parkway
Container terminals and rail ramps in Houston
Where containers are picked up and returned in the Houston area.
Marine terminal
Rail ramp
Barbours Cut Container Terminal
Marine terminal · Port Houston
Port Houston's older container terminal at Morgan's Point in La Porte, reached by State Highway 225 and State Highway 146. Handles major transpacific and transatlantic services.
Bayport Container Terminal
Marine terminal · Port Houston
The newer and larger of Houston's two container terminals, on the bay side of Pasadena near Seabrook. Its gate is a short run from the Bayport and La Porte industrial parks.
Settegast Intermodal Ramp
Rail ramp · Union Pacific
Union Pacific's Houston intermodal ramp in the northeast of the city, which took over the Englewood ramp's work in 2020. Domestic and international boxes to and from the West Coast, Midwest and Mexico.
Houston Intermodal Facility (Pearland)
Rail ramp · BNSF
BNSF's Houston ramp south of the city in Pearland, linking Houston with Dallas–Fort Worth, Southern California and Chicago.
Imports: from the Houston Ship Channel to the warehouse
Import boxes in Houston are mostly bound for big distribution networks. Cedar Port Industrial Park in Baytown, one of the largest rail- and barge-served industrial parks in the country, and the business parks around La Porte and Pasadena hold millions of square feet of import warehouses within a short drive of the terminals.
That proximity keeps many port moves under 20 miles, which is why Houston carriers often price local deliveries as a flat rate plus fuel rather than by the mile.
Deliveries farther out, to the Northwest Houston, Katy and Interstate 45 North corridors, add a full crossing of the metro on Beltway 8 or Interstate 610. Traffic on those loops, combined with terminal turn times, decides how many moves a truck can make in a day. Shippers who can receive early in the morning or offer drop-trailer style live unload windows usually get better rates and fewer missed appointments.
Weather is part of planning here. Hurricane season runs from June to November, and when a storm approaches the Coast Guard can close the ship channel and the terminals can shut their gates for several days.
Fog on Galveston Bay also delays vessels in the cooler months. After any closure, expect a surge of containers released at once, tighter appointment availability and storage charges that keep running unless the steamship line or terminal waives them.
Exports, resin and empty containers
Houston's export trade is dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene resin produced by the petrochemical plants along the channel and in nearby Baytown, Mont Belvieu and Freeport. Resin is usually shipped in bulk railcars to packaging and transload facilities, bagged or loaded into 40-foot containers, and trucked to Barbours Cut or Bayport.
These loads are heavy, so carriers need tri-axle chassis or overweight permits for some moves, and the shipper must declare the verified gross mass before the box is accepted.
Because so many exports leave from Houston, empty container availability matters as much as import volume. Carriers often pull empties from the terminals or from off-dock depots to packaging warehouses, wait for loading, and return the full box against the vessel's cargo cutoff. Missing a cutoff means rolling to the next sailing, so experienced export shippers book drayage at least two to three days ahead of the earliest return date.
Agricultural exports, machinery bound for Latin America and oil-field equipment also move through Houston. Out-of-gauge cargo on flat racks and open-top containers needs carriers with the right trailers and escort experience, so check a carrier's equipment list before tendering anything wider or taller than a standard box.
Common lanes out of Houston
Approximate one-way highway miles for the runs local carriers quote most often.
Freeport
Port Freeport alternative for some services; a same-day round trip.
60 mi
Beaumont / Port Arthur
Refinery and military cargo along I-10 East.
85 mi
San Antonio
Common one-way load on I-10 West; often paired with a backhaul.
200 mi
Dallas–Fort Worth
Truck competes with rail on I-45; usually a full driving day with return.
240 mi
Laredo
Cross-border freight to the Mexico gateway via US-59 / I-69.
315 mi
New Orleans
Long one-way haul along I-10 East; priced per mile.
350 mi
Booking drayage in Houston: what to know
Local habits that change the price and timing of a move in Houston. Mention them when you ask for a quote.
Name the terminal and the vessel
Barbours Cut and Bayport are about ten miles apart and have different gate hours and appointment availability. Give the carrier the terminal, vessel and voyage on the first quote request so the price reflects the real run.
Ask about overweight permits
Heavy export loads such as resin and steel may need a tri-axle chassis or a heavy-haul permit for the roads around the port. Confirm the cargo weight up front; a carrier without the right permit or equipment cannot take the load legally.
Watch free time after storms
When weather closes the terminals, containers pile up and free time can run out before you get an appointment. Ask the steamship line about storage relief and have a carrier lined up before the gates reopen.
Port drayage and rail drayage are different jobs
Not every Houston carrier works the Settegast or Pearland ramps, and rail carriers often handle 53-foot domestic boxes. If your container arrives by rail, filter for carriers that list rail ramp service.
Drayage markets near Houston
Many carriers that serve Houston also run these nearby ports and rail ramps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about container drayage in Houston, TX.