300 Hong Kong logistics firms face shutdown in slump

Some 300 Hong Kong logistics enterprises face the possibility of shutdown between January and March, reports Logistics Week, citing a market report.

There are 3,000 logistics enterprises in Hong Kong which mainly engage in freight forwarding. Most have laid-off staff to survive the financial crisis. Twenty per cent of the enterprises have no business at all, a situation expected to worsen in the first quarter with 10 per cent, or 300 enterprises, facing bankruptcy or closure, said Thomas Yip, vice president of the Hong Kong Logistics Association (HKLA).

Hong Kong-based China Merchants Holdings International's joint venture, Chiwan Container Terminal's (CCT) throughput dropped 29.8 per cent in December 2008, while Hutchison Port Holdings' (HPH) joint venture, Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT) first registered a historical drop last year.

Source: http://www.schednet.com