A petrochemical fire near Port Houston, Tx. has come as the port’s already been struggling with falling volumes. General cargo exports dropped 23.8% year over year in February while containerized freight fell 0.1%, ending a 12-month run of growth. The slippage was caused in part by an 11.1% drop in empty container shipments while imports of loaded containers actually increased by 2.5%. Among the major container-lines CMA-CGM’s inbound freight increased by 2.5% while Hapag-Lloyd saw an 11.5% drop.