Weather forecasters project Hurricane Ike will make landfall along the central coast of the US state of Texas early Saturday morning as a major hurricane; but conditions will begin deteriorating during the day on Friday.

Hurricane Ike's turn toward the Houston area earlier today spurred Harris County emergency officials to call for a mandatory evacuation of residents in lowing lying areas that will be subject to Ike's storm surge.

In preparation for the pending weather threat, BDP and its Houston operations have put a Business Continuity Plan into effect.

As weather conditions in the Houston area dictate, the safety of our employees as well as the unmitigated flow of our customers' transportation and logistics service will be BDP's highest priorities.

Today, Thursday, BDP Houston is operational, processing orders in an expedited fashion.

On Friday, BDP Houston will operate with a primary coverage team, weather conditions permitting.

On Monday, BDP Houston will be operational if power and infrastructure are in place to support business activities. If not, BDP will have initiated Business Continuity protocols to deploy personnel and technology via preplanned operating locations around the US.

BDP is monitoring the progress of Hurricane Ike and will be communicating with customers, partners and employees as events warrant.

Thank you.