Singapore ports recovered slightly

Singapore’s ports recovered slightly in March, with container throughput at least rising month-on-month, even though volumes are still down from the year before, Exim News Service reported.

Dominant player PSA’s Singapore terminals moved 2.14 million TEUs in March, up from the 1.8 million TEUs that passed through the port in February. This was, however, lower than the 2.49 million TEUs throughput in February 2008.

On a cumulative basis, the 5.86 million TEUs transhipped till March was 17.8 per cent off the 7.12 million TEUs seen up to the same point last year.

It was a similar picture at smaller operator Jurong port, which saw a 14.3 per cent increase to 56,000 TEUs from 49,000 TEUs in February. Year-on-year, however, container throughput fell by 23.3 per cent from 73,000 TEUs in March the year before.

For the overall port of Singapore, March transhipment rose by 18.4 per cent to 2.19 million TEUs from 1.85 million TEUs in February. This, however, was 14.8 per cent down from the 2.57 million TEUs seen in March 2008.

In terms of bunker sales, March also posted a 17.2 per cent increase to 3.13 million tonnes from 2.67 million tonnes in February. This was a slight increase from the 3.05 million tonnes sold in March 2008.

Shanghai, home to the world’s second-largest container port, said international shipping through the city rose for the first time in seven months as the Chinese government’s economic stimulus plan attracted more vessels.

The number of international ships entering and exiting the city jumped by 28 per cent in March from February, according to a statement. In March, 4,112 international ships entered or exited Shanghai, it said.

The city is also forecast to benefit from rising trade through direct links between China’s financial capital and Taiwan, according to the statement.

South Korea’s Busan port, the world’s fifth-busiest, took a hit from the worst global downturn in decades, but now sees first signs that the slump may be approaching the bottom, an executive said.

The port, which handles 60 per cent of the containerised cargo entering or leaving the country, suffered a 20 per cent drop in the number of containers it moved around its port terminals in the first three months of 2009 from a year earlier.

But the performance in March and recent comments from officials at shipping companies suggest the slump in shipments was levelling off, said Mr Choo Yeon Gil, Vice-President of Busan Port Authority.

We judge that (the pace of annual decline) has stalled by now and that we are passing through the trough, Mr Choo said. We have no figures for this month, but shipping industry officials are also saying the number of empty containers is decreasing as well, he added.

 

Source: Transportweekly