Hurricanes Katrina and Rita took a big bite out of US Gulf Coast exports in September, a US Census Bureau report showed late Friday.
Total exports through the ports on the Gulf Coast between Tampa and Houston declined $1.2 billion, or 15.2 percent, based on a comparison of preliminary, non-seasonally adjusted data for September and August, the Census Bureau said in its first estimate of how the storms effected US trade.
Exports through the hard-hit New Orleans region ports fell $590 million in September, led by big drops in chemicals, petroleum, coal products and farm and food products. The United States ships much of its corn, wheat and soybeans through Louisiana ports on the Mississippi River.
Operations at the Port of New Orleans, which port officials estimate could cost to $1.7 billion to repair, are still well below normal more than six weeks after Katrina.
"We're averaging now somewhere in the neighbourhood of 14 to 15 ship calls per week," or about 35 to 40 percent of pre-hurricane levels, said Chris Bonura, a port spokesman. "Truck capacity is about 35 to 40 percent, too."
Meanwhile, outbound trade through the Houston area ports dropped $579 million in September, with chemicals and machinery showing the biggest declines.
US crude oil prices hit a record high of $70.85 per barrel in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, which slammed into the US Gulf Coast on August 29, shuttering much of the region's oil-producing and refining capacity.
Because of the high prices, the value of crude oil imports through the Gulf Coast region declined only 3.3 percent in September to $6.82 billion even though the volume fell 11.6 percent to 119.1 million barrels.
Overall imports through the Gulf Coast ports increased 4.4 percent, or $622 million, the Census Bureau said. The data suggests many incoming shipments were rerouted to ports not shut by the storm. US imports have been at record levels this year in the face of strong consumer demand.