PORT ARTHUR, TEX.

The tables included in this report give the commerce of the port of Port Arthur for the 10-year period 1929-38 in detail. The lowest annual tonnage during this period was that of 1930 when the total reached 8,481,996 short tons. Each subsequent year saw considerable increase until a high of 20,084,641 short tons was reached in 1937, the highest year of the decade.

During this period imports averaged 46,359 tons annually, which accounted for 0.4 percent of the total; exports averaged 2,284,858 tons or 17 percent; coastwise receipts 1,177,028 tons or 8.7 percent; coastwise shipments 9,164,433 tons or 71.4 percent, and internal traffic 342,067 tons or 2.5 percent of the total water-borne commerce of the port.

IMPORTS

Crude oil and petroleum products constituted 95 percent of the import business of the port during the 10-year period under discussion,

AVERAGE ANNUAL COMMERCE OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, 1929-1938

the annual average movement being 44,047 tons. Other items in the import trade were vegetable oil, with an annual average of 985 tons or 2.1 percent, machinery, 683 tons or 1.5 percent, and various other items in lesser amounts, which had an annual average total of 644 tons or 1.4 percent.

EXPORTS

Petroleum and products with an annual average of 2,186,527 tons constituted 95.7 percent of the export trade during the 10-year period. The next most important item from the tonnage viewpoint was wheat, which averaged 28,561 tons per annum and accounted for 1.3 percent of all exports. Coal and coke with an average of 28,029 tons, or 1.2 percent of the total, ranked third in export tonnages. All other commodities of export averaged 41,741 tons or 1.8 percent of the total. Outstanding in the items constituting this 1.8 percent were scrap metal, asphalt, and corn.

COASTWISE RECEIPTS

Of the coastwise receipts at Port Arthur during the 10-year period, petroleum and products averaged 1,136,765 tons annually and accounted for 96.6 percent of all such receipts. Miscellaneous chemicals, not including 3,658 tons of paints, pigments, varnishes, etc., with an annual average of 10,203 tons constituted 0.9 percent, while the remaining 2.5 percent included such items as iron and steel products, clay and clay products, and numerous others, the total annual average being 30,060 tons.

COASTWISE SHIPMENTS

As in the case of coastwise receipts, the principal commodities handled in coastwise shipments consisted of petroleum and petroleum products, the average annual shipments of which aggregated 9,524,042 tons and accounted for 99 percent of the total. The 90,391 tons of miscellaneous items, constituting the remaining 1 percent, consisted largely of coke, asphalt, and composition roofing.

INTERNAL TRAFFIC

The greater part of the internal traffic during the 10-year period was made up of petroleum and products, which averaged 205,931 tons or 60.2 percent. The only other commodity which moved in any large volume in this traffic was shell, averaging 120,765 tons annually and accounting for 35.3 percent of the total. Other items of note were chemicals, with an annual average of 7,370 tons or 2.1 percent; sand and gravel, 4,443 tons or 1.4 percent, and miscellaneous items. 3,558 tons or 1 percent.