Philippine sea freight volume inched up 0.23% in the first half of the year to 35.13 million metric tons (mmt) from 33.65 mmt in the same period last year (see table), according to latest data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
Significant volume increases were noted for the ports of Puerto Princesa, Pulupandan, General Santos and Cotabato with Puerto Princesa registering the highest growth at 48.70%. PPA attributed this increase to active import and export of feeds, fruits, grains metal ores/scraps, crude minerals, and paper products, among others.
Higher volume for the above ports was not enough to offset substantial dips posted by 15 other ports though. TheportofNasipitsuffered the biggest setback, reporting a 22.03% decline due to significant reduction in nickel ore exports. Legazpi, Iligan, andSouthHarboralso took a big hit.
TheNorthPortled all other ports in terms of domestic cargo volume handled at 7.37 mmt while the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) dominated foreign cargo traffic with 8.56 mmt.
JoiningNorthPortand MICT in the top five ports were Batangas, which handled 10.33 mmt; Limay, 8.22 mmt; andDavao, 5.63 mmt.
Containerized shipments reached 2.426 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 13.14% from 2.144 million TEUs handled during last year’s first half. Domestic container traffic grew 23.76% while foreign container traffic rose 7.80%.
MICT handled the most foreign container shipments with 792,042 TEUs followed bySouthHarborwith 474,016 TEUs.
NorthHarboraccounted for the bulk or 368,372 TEUs of domestic containerized cargo.
Shipcalls dropped 2.45% for the period in review, from 169,069 to 164,926. Domestic and foreign vessels decreased 2.41% and 3.83%, respectively.
The top five ports reporting the most number of shipcalls were Batangas, Tagbilaran, Legazpi, Pulupandan, and Calapan.
Passenger volume reached 26.02 million or 11.88% less than the first half last year. PPA attributed the dip to travelers’ increasing preference for air transportation, and stoppage of operations of some ferry vessels and cancellation of trips due to inclement weather.
The top five ports with the most number of passengers for the first half were Batangas, Calapan, Legazpi, Tagbilaran, and Zamboanga.
Cargo Traffic for January-June 2011
Jan-June Inc/(Dec)
2011 2010 Volume %
Cargo (mmt) 80,508,408 80,324,184 184,224 0.23
Domestic 35,126,560 33,645,000 1,481,560 4.40
Foreign 45,381,848 46,679,184 (1,297,336) (2.78)
Import 26,422,583 27,883,902 (1,461,319) (5.24)
Export 18,959,265 18,795,282 163,983 0.87
Container (in TEUs) 2,426,000 2,144,194 281,806 13.14
Domestic 887,979 717,481 170,498 23.76
Foreign 1,538,021 1,426,713 111,308 7.89
Import 776,883 712,862 64,021 8.98
Export 761,138 713,851 47,287 6.62
Passenger (millions) 26,022,077 29,529,658 (3,507,581) (11.88)
Domestic 25,993,993 29,488,436 (3,494,443) (11.85)
Foreign 28,084 41,222 (13,138) (31.87)
Shipcalls 164,926 169,069 (4,143) (2.45)
Domestic 159,822 163,762 (3,940) (2.41)
Foreign 5,104 5,307 (203) (3.83)
Source: Philippine Ports Authority
Photo by pmarkham
