Port cargo veers toward 2% dip in carriage

It's a long list of declines.

According to a release, total port cargo throughput dropped 2% year-on-year to 69.4 million tonnes in the third quarter this year, and, within this total, inward port cargo recorded virtually no change at 40.3 million tonnes, while outward port cargo fell 4% to 29.1 million tones, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

For the first nine months of this year, total port cargo throughput decreased 2% year-on-year to 203 million tonnes. Within this total, both inward and outward port cargo dropped 1% and 2% to 117.1 million tonnes and 85.9 million tonnes.

In the third quarter, the port of Hong Kong handled 5.9 million TEUs of containers, down 7% year-on-year. Within this total, laden containers decreased 8% to 5 million TEUs, while empty containers also dropped 6% to 900,000 TEUs. Among laden containers, inward containers fell 6% to 2.5 million TEUs, while outward containers also dropped 9% to 2.5 million TEUs.

In the first nine months of the year, the port of Hong Kong handled 17.5 million TEUs of containers, down 4% year-on-year. Within this total, laden containers dropped 4% to 14.9 million TEUs, while empty containers also fell 5% to 2.6 million TEUs. Among laden containers, both inward and outward containers decreased 4% to 7.4 million TEUs.

Seaborne and river laden containers decreased 9% and 4% in the third quarter year-on-year to 3.7 million TEUs and 1.2 million TEUs. In the first nine months, seaborne and river laden containers decreased 3% and 7% on the same period in 2011 to 11.2 million TEUs and 3.6 million TEUs.