Container throughput continue to dip

Singapore -Singapore – Sluggish demand continues to impact container throughput, with NOL and COSCO reporting slower may figures.

Container throughput at Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) fell 21% in the four weeks to May 29, when compared to the same period last year, the company said on Monday.

From 2 May to May 29, the Singapore based shipper said it carried 159,100 FEUs (40-foot equivalent units), down from 201,700 FEUs in the same period last year.

This is the smallest decline since NOL posted a 35% drop in volume for the four-week operating period to February 6, media sources reported.

May's decline in volume was blamed on shrinking demands amid the global economic downturn.

The company's average revenue from each FEU container also fell 23% to US$2,326.

NOL previously said it expects to post a "significant" loss this year.

Chinese terminal operator COSCO Pacific also reported a decline in its container throughput by 8.3% in May to 3.8 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).

COSCO witnessed its steepest decline of 25% to 240,000 TEUs and 17% to 170,000 TEUs at Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively, while the joint COSCO-PSA terminal in the Port of Singapore saw volume nosedive 49% to 58,100 TEUs.

On the contrary, COSCO's northern Chinese ports of Qingdao, Tianjin and Yingkou all witnessed a surge in May's container volume, reported media sources.

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