Cargo volume handled by Philippine ports in 2017 grew 4.23% to 254.069 million metric tons (mmt) from 243.758 mmt in 2016 following growth in both domestic and foreign cargo volumes.
Domestic cargo in 2017 improved 8.66% to 102.534 mmt from 94.364 mmt, with notable cargo performances registered at the Port Management Offices (PMO) of National Capital Region (NCR) North; Panay/Guimaras; Davao; Negros Occidental/Bacolod/Banago/BREDCO; Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro; and NCR South, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said in its 2017 accomplishment report.
Growth in foreign trade volume likewise improved, albeit nominally, at 1.43% to 151.536 mmt from 149.393 mmt, owing primarily to the upturn in imports that negated the effect of the recorded shortfall in export goods. Imports rose 4.7% to 89.029 mmt from 85.032 mmt, while exports declined 2.88% to 62.507 mmt from 64.361 mmt.
In terms of containerized cargoes, volume handled in 2017 surpassed 2016’s performance by 8.28%, with 7.060 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2017 from 6.520 million TEUs in the previous year.
Domestic container traffic climbed 8.66% to 2.865 million TEUs from 2.637 million TEUs while foreign container volume expanded 8.02% to 4.195 million TEUs from 3.883 million TEUs.
A total of 446,263 vessels were registered nationwide in 2017, an increase of 2.93% from 433,580 in 2016. PPA said the increment is attributed mainly to inter-island vessel movements growing 3.11%.
Foreign ship calls, on the other hand, declined 3.51%. PPA said overall, the increased vessel traffic is attributed to the stream in domestic consumption as well as the continuous reliance on water-borne transport modes.
Passenger traffic also continued to post growth with a 4.57% increase in passengers to 72.103 million from 68.951 million, driven by the continued reliance by the sea-travelling public on roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels, fast craft, and motorized bancas as primary modes of transportation for domestic inter-island travel.
PPA said the positive stream in passenger traffic serviced during the year has also been the result of favorable response from the public to the government’s domestic eco-tourism programs encouraging leisure inter-island Ro-Ro travel to tourist destinations such as Siargao, Puerto Galera, Bohol, El Nido, and other emerging tourism sites.
Cruise tourism promotions by the government likewise supported the growth in traffic as cruise ships were routed to the country’s cruise tourism hubs such as Manila, Boracay, and Coron, among others.
For 2017, port performance indicators (i.e. berth occupancy rate, yard utilization rate, and quay crane productivity) that were established to gauge the efficiency of operations at Manila ports “are continuously being monitored by PPA to ensure that the ports remain free from congestion and, in effect, provide seamless and uninterrupted services to port stakeholders.”
Even at the height of port activities ushered in by the Christmas season, PPA said berth occupancy rate for Manila International Container Terminal, Manila South Harbor, and Manila North Harbor was within 41% to 65%, yard utilization rate within 43% to 75%, and quay crane productivity sustained at 23 to 29 moves per hour. – Roumina Pablo
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