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Global ports operator and logistics giant DP World is pursuing a deal to enter the lucrative U.S. container and ports business after an absence of 20 years. The company reports it is in exclusive negotiations to develop and operate a container terminal at the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas.
The deal would be significant for Corpus Christi, which today functions as a gateway for energy, agriculture, and industrial exports. It completed an expansion project of its ship channel in June 2025 to achieve a 54-foot (Mean Lower Low Water)-deep and would diversify its operations with the addition of containers. Corpus Christi, located about 300 miles south of Houston, has a strategic location that also places it close to the Mexican border.
Under the proposed development, DP World would design, build, and operate a new container terminal. In 2025, Corpus Christi moved 203.4 million tons of cargo that was mainly liquefied natural gas, crude oil, dry bulk, and agricultural goods.
DP World, which has managed to build a network of operating more than 60 ports and terminals worldwide, handling around 10 percent of global container traffic annually, has no container terminal operations in the U.S. Its operations in the world's biggest economy are mainly concentrated in logistics, warehousing, and freight forwarding services, with its North America port operations in Vancouver, Canada.
The Dubai-based conglomerate was chased from the U.S. market 20 years ago by political opposition and negative sentiment in the wake of the 9-11 attacks in America. DP World acquired P&O's ports and logistics operations, which had six ports in the United States. Opposition to the deal by the U.S. Congress led to DP World divesting of the American ports.
It now hopes that if all goes according to plan, it will finally enter the containerized business in the U.S., a lucrative market that recorded in excess of 28 million TEU containerized import volumes in 2025. Under the proposed development, DP World would design, build, and operate a new container terminal, expanding capacity and strengthening supply chain connectivity across the Gulf Coast.
The company reports that the exclusive negotiation period will focus on terminal design, capacity planning, and investment structure for the operations in Texas.
The Port of Corpus Christi reported its strongest first-quarter performance in the port's history, moving 54.5 million tons of commodities through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in the first quarter of 2026. It represented a six percent increase year-over-year and was 500,000 tons above the port's record achieved in Q4 2024.
Fuente: The Maritime Executive
