Philippine Cargo Volume Slows.
Philippine Ports Authority data has revealed cargo volumes grew 4% less this year due to a decline in exports and mining.
Ports that posted container volume growth included NCR North, Davao, Batangas, South Harbor and the Manila International Container Terminal.
Manila Ports handled around 85% of the total cargo volume to and from the Philippines, maintaining “very healthy” utilization rates.
Total container volume totalled 1.521 million TEUs, with 4.08% growth, of which domestic containers posted a 7.71% increase while foreign boxes registered a “measly” 1.61% increase.
Total cargo volumes for the authority were around 4.15% higher in Q1 2017 than they were in Q1 2016.
Contributing to the total, domestic cargo volume grew by 4.91% while foreign cargo volume grew 3.57% from the same quarter last year.
“While we posted volume growth for the period, the growth pace, however, is slower.
Last year, we registered some 8% growth in volume compared to the 4% for the same period this year.
“The slower pace is due primarily to the overall decline in export cargo volume, which dropped 8% for the first quarter compared to last year.” Technical Paper:New Central Gate at ICTSI’s flagship Manila International Container Terminal