CONTAINER throughput that passed through terminals operated by Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC), three hours north of the Philippine capital Manila, dropped 2.9% to 21,231.25 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) from January to mid-August this year, from the 21,865.75 TEU in the same period a year ago.
Exports and imports both decreased in the first half of the year.
Year-on-year data showed double-digit declines in volumes in February (-17.98%), May (-10.58%), and July (-11.65%) at the New Container Terminals 1 and 2, operated by SBITC, a unit of global port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc.
On average, the terminals this year handled 1,769.27 TEUs a month and 58.20 TEUs a day.
For the first seven months of 2013, imports of 10 users of the western Luzon hub reached 3,331.25 TEUs. A year earlier, 12 importers accounted for 4,561.25 TEUs.
Of the total imports for the seven months, consignee Tong Lung Philippines Metal Industry Co. Inc. generated the most with 695 TEUs, topping last year’s top consignee, the Philip Morris/Air21 tandem, which had 580 TEUs.
Exports of 10 port users reached 4,056.25 TEUs in the first seven months. For the same period last year, 13 exporters accounted for 4,156 TEUs.
Wood products manufacturer Juken Sangyo (Phils.) Corp. remained the top exporter, contributing 1,388 TEU, while new port user HLD Clark Steel Pipe Co. Ltd. Came in second with 678.25 TEU.
SBITC last year handled 35,215.75 TEU, of which 11,558.75 TEU were inbound and 10,612 outbound.
The port services 58 importers and exporters that trade with Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Dubai, and the United States.
APL and Wan Hai Lines call at the port.
Photo courtesy of Subic Bay International Terminal Corp
