"It would have been a nice fit," Edmonds says. But, he quicklyadds, the Port of Houston's goal is still reachable: cornering allcontainer-shipping locally. The Houston port currently controls 63%of the market share for container shipping in the Gulf of Mexico.Edmonds says there are no plans afoot to lob a similar play withother ports such as Texas City, Freeport or New Orleans.

Edmonds says the 720-acre Bayport container terminal and a120-acre industrial development area in southeast Harris County areproof of the Houston port's ability to handle future growth. Bydeveloping Bayport, the port can keep pace with the anticipated andexpanding growth patterns in the container industry. A "no-buildscenario" is not an option if Houston is to maintain its currentcustomer base. Expansion also could spread to Pelican Island tosupport growth.

Edmonds concedes other cargo lines may suffer as a result of thefailed merger. He says the authority will have to come up withalternative solutions for those problems.