Less containers, ocean vessel arrivals in Q3

The port handled 3.41 million TEUs of containers during the quarter.

Hong Kong’s port saw a decline in the volume of containers handled and the number of ocean vessels it welcomed in the third quarter of 2024.

The port handled 3.41 million TEUs of containers from July to September 2024, a 7% year-on-year decline, data from the Census & Statistics Department (C&SD) showed.

Laden and empty containers decreased by 5.2% and 13.9% to 2.75 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) and 0.66 million TEUs, respectively.

Amongst laden containers, inward and outward containers dropped by 5% and 5.4% to 1.47 million TEUs and 1.27 million TEUs, respectively.

For the first nine months of 2024, the port of Hong Kong handled 10.18 million TEUs of containers, 5.7% YoY lower.

Laden and empty containers decreased by 4.5% and 10.2% to 8.14 million TEUs and 2.03 million TEUs, respectively.

Inward and outward containers decreased by 4.4% and 4.6% to 4.37 million TEUs and 3.77 million TEUs, respectively.

Ocean vessel arrivals down
The port welcomed 4,503 ocean vessels during the third quarter, 4.5% YoY lower than in Q3 2023.

Total capacity also decreased by 6.9% YoY to 71.2 million net tons.

In contrast, the number of river vessel arrivals rose 5.3% YoY to 20,724. Total capacity is also up by 12.7% YoY to 21.4 million net tons.

Comparing the first nine months of 2024 with a year earlier, the number of ocean vessel arrivals decreased by 2.9% to 13,623, whilst the number of river vessel arrivals increased by 16.4% to 61,509.