WASHINGTON: China-focussed port operator Cosco Shipping Ports (CSP) still managed to turn in a 5.6% rise in overall throughput for February but has seen drops in its key Bohai Rim and Yangtze River Delta regions. CSP said in a press release that February overall throughput across all its ports rose to 6.94m teu from 6.57m teu in the previous corresponding period. Meanwhile at CSP’s Bohai Rim ports throughput fell 1.6% to 2.22m teu from 2.25m teu previously while at the Yangtze River Delta region volumes fell 3.6% to 1.36m teu from 1.41m teu previously.
CSP’s Pearl River Delta ports however saw a welcome recovery, with throughput rising 4.5% to 1.61m teu from 1.54m teu previously, with the Hong Kong terminals in particular doing well to recover from a very low base in the previous corresponding period. Worryingly however, CSP’s Yantian International Container Terminals, which had been a stalwart performer in that cluster, saw volume plunge 16% to 649,400 teu. The newer ports on the Southeast Coast and Southwest Coast continued on their steady growth trend, rising 16% and 11% to 321,100 teu and 70,200 teu respectively. And CSP’s overseas ports also continued to do well, with throughput rising 33% to 1.36m teu from 1.03m teu previously.
