Shanghai, Shenzhen throughput dives

Container shipping volumes at the mainland's two largest ports fell by the sharpest on record last month with throughput in Shanghai dropping six percent and in Shenzhen by 15.7 percent, and the situation could deteriorate, the South China Morning Post reported.

Fundamentals are still winding down, wrote Ally Ma in a Citi report, which cited the shipping statistics. Chinese container ports will face negative growth in the first half and could be flat for the full year.Shenzhen's average container throughput figure masks an even worse performance in terms of containers carrying goods, or laden containers.

Last month, Shenzhen's outward-bound throughput of laden containers fell 23 percent year-on-year, while its inward-bound throughput of laden containers plunged 27 percent.

The reason Shenzhen's average throughput decline in December was relatively better at 15.7 percent was that the throughput of empty containers fell only three percent, explained Sunny Ho Lap-kee, executive director of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council.

The deceleration has become very rapid and horrifying, he said.

Shenzhen's exports will worsen in the coming months because the drop in the inward-bound throughput of laden containers last month was greater than the drop in outward-bound throughput, said Ho. Inbound cargo includes raw materials and components which are processed into finished goods for export.

Shenzhen's container throughput growth has been negative since last September, when there was a decline of two percent. It was in September that the financial crisis struck, shrinking demand for mainland goods.

The Shenzhen port figures are a direct reflection of manufacturing in the Pearl River Delta, said Ho. The situation is quite serious as far as manufacturing in the Pearl River Delta is concerned. Hong Kong companies are the largest investor in Pearl River Delta manufacturing.

For the whole of last year, Shenzhen's container throughput grew 1.5 percent, much slower than its 14.2 per cent growth in 2007 and 16.2 percent expansion in 2006, according to Ma's report.

Shanghai's container throughput grew 6.8 percent to 28 million TEUs last year. This is slower than Shanghai's container throughput growth of 20.5 percent in 2007 and 21.4 percent in 2006. Shanghai remains the world's second-busiest container port behind Singapore.

Container throughput of the country's seven major international trading ports - Shanghai, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Tianjin, Ningbo, Xiamen and Dalian - grew 8.5 percent last year. Growth was 19.8 percent in 2007 and 21.5 percent in 2006.

Source: http://www.cargonewsasia.com