Shipping from San Diego
San Diego, CA freight rates The Port of San Diego offers two maritime cargo terminals, and the community is working to increase capacity to balance export cargo with its abundant import freight. The port specializes in break-bulk and roll-on/roll-off cargoes. Its National City Marine Terminal handles the import and export of vehicles and heavy equipment, with a 140-acre on-dock facility that’s able to hold 120 railcars for automobile loading and unloading. The port’s terminals also handle windmill generator components from Japan and windmill products from Europe and South America, as well as fruit and dry goods. The San Diego County Regional Airport recently added direct service to London and Tokyo to increase cargo shipping opportunities to those markets. One service the region is lacking is rail. San Diego is served by stub-end service from one Class I carrier, and a short line connection to a Mexican carrier. Though new outlets are being investigated, the current Class I service is limited for freight because of the abundance of passenger trains using the local infrastructure.
Shipping to Houston
Houston, Texas freight rates Whether by sea, highway or rail, a major portion of the country’s freight passes in and out of the Houston region. The region is home to the ports of Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City. The Port of Houston ranks first in the U.S. in foreign tonnage and is the largest container port in the Gulf Coast, handling 66 percent of Gulf Coast container traffic in 2013. A recent expansion of the Panama Canal to allow larger ocean freighters should increase port traffic. As one of the nation’s busiest rail centers, the Houston region has a rail network of more than 800 miles of rail line and 21 miles of railroad bridges. Additionally, 10 major rail companies serve the Houston region and 150 trucking lines connect the Port of Houston to the continental U.S., Canada and Mexico. Houston is the crossroads for Interstate Highways 10 and 45, as well as several state highways.
