Shanghai's growth slows

Shanghai's container throughput was up in 2008, despite the onset of the global financial crisis.

Figures released by the Chinese authorities showed throughput up 7% to 28 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units), making Shanghai the world’s busiest container port after Singapore.

The rate of growth, however, was well down on the 20% seen in the two previous years.

Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao Port handled15 million TEUs, accounting for more than 54% of Shanghai's total volume. The Yangshan Deep-water Port handled 8.2 million TEUs.  The last phase of its northern section was completed and became fully operational early last month.

Latest reports did not break down throughput month-by-month.

Statistics from Singapore, however, showed container throughput in Singapore in November was lower than the year before, the first time such a decline had been recorded in seven years.

Figures released by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) showed that 2.29 million TEUs passed through the port, a 1.5% decline from November the year before.

The MPA has not yet published container throughput for the full year, but by the end of November Singapore had handled 27.8 million TEUs, up 9% on the first 11 months of 2007, a reflection of the growing volumes seen in the year to August.

Despite the fall in November's container traffic, Singapore's bunker sales volumes in for the month (2.88 million metric tonnes) were up year-on-year although they were 1.6% down from sales in October.



 

Source: http://www.portworld.com