Tri Coastal adds Houston scrap, barge facility

Ferrous scrap broker and exporter Tri Coastal Trading will open its first fully-owned ferrous scrap processing and barge-loading facility in Houston, Texas.

The new 20-acre site located in east Houston along Buffalo Bayou, which feeds the Houston Ship Channel, has a barge slip for simultaneous loading of 2-3 barges, warehouses and a Union Pacific rail spur connection.

Prior to opening this facility, Tri Coastal had various joint ventures with other Houston-based recyclers to load deep-sea bulk cargoes.

Tri Coastal said the Houston location will serve primarily to process ferrous scrap and load barges, which can be transported to domestic consumers or staged for loading deep-sea vessels in Houston or New Orleans, Louisiana.

Tri Coastal plans to load one deep-sea bulk vessel every two months.

The new dock location expands Tri Coastal's footprint in Houston, which currently serves as it headquarters for export business. The company also has operations in New Orleans.

The company ceased operations in Jacksonville, Florida, in the first quarter of 2020.

By Brad MacAulay