Container traffic at Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) fell 11.5% in 2015, its lowest volume in five years. Data from the Phividec Industrial Authority (PIA) showed box throughput declined to 177,217 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 200,217 TEUs in 2014.
PIA attributed the decline to low demand for sawn lumber from China, which has not yet recovered from the downturn that started in 2014.
The dry spell in early 2015 which affected the quality of fresh pineapple and banana, key exports from the area, and the “high cost in the Bureau of Customs importation procedure” also contributed to the traffic drop, PIA said, as did stiff competition in freight charges from some domestic shipping lines, which prompted vessels to call ports outside MCT.
Foreign boxes, which accounted for 55% of the total volume last year, were comprised mostly of sawn lumber; fresh and processed fruits such as banana, pineapple and coconut; oleo chemicals and related products (Pilipinas Kao Inc products); activated carbon; and raw rubber.
Domestic cargoes contributed the rest, continuing the trend seen in 2014.
Ship calls likewise fell 2.3% to 416 vessels from 426 ships in 2014. PIA traced the decline to the 10.7% decrease in domestic ship calls, which were down to 242 from 271. Foreign vessel calls, however, improved by 12% to 174 from 155. PIA said the entry of Shandong International Transport in June 2015 raised to three the number of foreign shipping lines that now call regularly at MCT.
MCT is located in the Phividec Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental, which is managed, administered, and supervised by PIA. The investment promotions agency also regulates the terminal.
MCT is operated and managed by Mindanao International Container Terminal Services, Inc, a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. — Roumina Pablo
