Singapore port hangs onto top spot

The Port of Singapore saw volume plummet in December, resulting in year-end volumes that just barely kept the port the world’s busiest.

According to a report in Singapore's Straits Times, volume fell 14 percent in December versus the same month in 2007, continuing the downward trend that afflicted nearly every major Asian port in the last quarter of 2008. Volume fell 1.5 percent in November, the first time Singapore had seen a decline in any particular month since 2001.

However, Singapore's volume for the year rose 7 percent to 29.9 million TEUs, just above the 28 million TEUs handled by Shanghai last year.

Source: American Shipper