HONG KONG's China Merchants Holdings International (CMHI) posted a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in container throughput in 2014 to 80 million TEU, marking another year of double digit growth that has continued since 2012.
As the mainland's biggest box port operator, China Merchants performance was been similar to that of China's No 2 terminal operator, Cosco Pacific, which last week reported 10.6 per cent year-on-year growth to 67.3 million TEU last year.
Yangtze ports accounted for most of the volume with terminals of the Shanghai International Port Group handling 35.2 million of the 37.8 million TEU, up five per cent year on year.
Notably, Ningbo Daxie terminal was up 21 per cent to 2.5 million TEU.
But CMHI's Pearl River terminals in Shenzhen only grew 3.2 per cent to 24 million TEU, as Shekou and Chiwan terminals suffered from a restructuring of the container shipping industry in the first half, which led to a decline in volumes.
Mainland China terminals grew 12.5 per cent compared to 2013, with 9.5 million TEU handled by Tianjin, Qingdao, Zhangjiang and Zhangzhou, although Zhangzhou's throughput fell sharply by 28 per cent during the year.
Like Cosco Pacific, CMHI's overseas terminals produced mega growth numbers of 75 per cent year on year with 15.1 million TEU handled at China Merchant facilities in Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Djibouti, Togo and at Terminal Link.
Big numbers came from Terminal Link, in which CMHI bought at 49 per cent stake from CMA CGM in 2013, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. Terminal Link owns 15 terminals in eight countries at Zeebrugge, Antwerp, LeHavre, Montoir, Marseilles, Casablanca, Tangiers, Malta, Abidjan, Dunkirk, Houston, Miami, Busan, Haicang and Xiamen.
Preliminary figures for the year show that volumes from these terminals grew nearly 90 per cent in 2014 to 11.8 million TEU.
Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT), the Sri Lanka transshipment hub that began operations last year, handled 687,000 TEU for the year.
As a transshipment port, Colombo handles container traffic to and from India and other countries in South Asia, and is capable of serving the big ships.
WORLD SHIPPING
20 January 2015 - 18:16
China Merchants box volume rises 13pc in 2014 to 80 million TEU
HONG KONG's China Merchants Holdings International (CMHI) posted a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in container throughput in 2014 to 80 million TEU, marking another year of double digit growth that has continued since 2012.
WORLD SHIPPING
20 January 2015 - 18:16
China Merchants box volume rises 13pc in 2014 to 80 million TEU
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