THE Shanghai International Shipping Institute predicts that the world's container throughput this year will grow 4% YoY to 615 million TEUs as compared to the 7.5% growth in 2011 and the 15% gain in 2010.
According to the SISI report, during the first three quarters of this calendar year, global port throughput grew six per cent, compared to 9% last year. In the third quarter, the growth was even slower at 5%.
Some Asian ports have seen their throughputs shrink in the third quarter, with Shanghai down 0.3%, Singapore declining 0.9% and Guangzhou off 2.77%. Overall, the growth of Asian ports slowed to 4.8 per cent from 7% in the first half of the year.
The report said the decline in Europe is gaining momentum with weakening consumer demand. In the third quarter, Europe's largest port, Rotterdam, recorded a slip of one per cent in its throughput to 110 million tonnes.
In comparison, US port performance is stronger and even surpasses the market's most optimistic forecasts at the beginning of the year, noted SISI. During the first nine months, the throughput of major ports in the US increased about two per cent, one per cent faster than in the same period last year. With Christmas drawing near, ports in America recorded an increase of 3.12% in the third quarter. Canada's Vancouver even posted double-digit growth.
