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HomeIndustry NewsImpacts from Hurricane Beryl on Shipping on the U.S. Gulf Coast

Impacts from Hurricane Beryl on Shipping on the U.S. Gulf Coast

When Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas earlier this week, it had already made headlines for a chilling reason: it was the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico in recorded history. Thankfully, the storm weakened when it struck Texas as a Category 1 hurricane earlier this week.

The hurricane made landfall in Matagorda, Texas, close to Houston. While not a direct hit on Houston, the hurricane has already had significant impacts on shipping, logistics, and the supply chain for Texas and the U.S. Gulf Coast.

There were a few areas significantly affected by the storm that we have outlined below.

The Port of Houston

Since earlier this week, the Port of Houston has been disrupted by the storm. First closing on Sunday, July 7th, the port reopened on Wednesday, July 10th after significant flooding in the area from the storm.

The Port of Houston, though operational, is now operating on reduced hours as follows:

Wednesday, July 10th, 2024: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM (Ingate closes at 7:00 PM)
Thursday, July 11th, 2024: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM (Ingate closes at 7:00 PM)
Friday, July 12th, 2024: 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Ingate closes at 6:00 PM)
Saturday, July 13th, 2024: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Ingate closes at 4:00 PM)

It is assumed that full operations will resume once all damage, flooding, and other disruption from Hurricane Beryl is cleared up.

Last-Mile Deliveries

With nearly a million people still without power in Texas, downed trees, flooded roads, and other trailing effects from Hurricane Beryl, last-mile delivery services such as UPS, the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, and other carriers have been plagued with delays in the region.

And, with strong storms – the remnants of Hurricane Beryl – heading up the U.S. East Coast just in time for the weekend, there could be further weather-related delays on parts of the East Coast in the coming days.

Air Cargo Delays

Thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed in the Houston region this week. This led to a significant number of cargo delays where air was the primary mode of transport.

Taken together, these three areas have meant significant disruption to the supply chain’s reliability and delivery times this week. Thankfully, the region was spared the worst impact, which would have been significantly longer-term damage caused by a more-powerful storm.

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