THE country’s total cargo throughput
increased 5.67% in the first eight months of the year from
99.904 million metric tons (mmt) last year to 105.57 mmt this
year (see table),
the first time in months that growth breached the 5% level.
A Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) report said the hike was
propelled by the 12.16% rise in the country’s foreign
trade, particularly exports which grew 30.4% from 18.515 mmt
last year to 24.144 mmt for the period.
Import volume inched up 2.28% for the period in review from
34.169 mmt to 34.946 mmt.
Domestic cargo volume whose increase in the past months arrested
what could have been even deeper declines in throughput, retreated
1.57% from 47.22 mmt to 46.479 mmt.
According to the PPA report, the increase in cargo volume
was mostly felt at the ports of Surigao, Nasipit and Puerto
Princesa.
Container traffic, on the other hand, continued its uptrend,
increasing 5.92% compared to the same period last year from
2.408 million TEUs to 2.551 million TEUs, again due to the
active movement of foreign cargoes.
Total foreign containerized shipments soared almost 12% from
1.341 million TEUs last year to 1.501 million TEUs for the
period. Import boxes rose 11.36% to 757,995 TEUs and export
boxes 12.61% from 660,571 TEUs to 743,902 TEUs for the period.
The PPA said the container cargo increase was mostly felt
at the ports of Batangas, Davao, Limay, Zamboanga, Manila
International Container Terminal, South Harbor and Cagayan
de Oro.
Domestic containerized cargoes, on the other hand, retreated
1.69% from 1.067 million TEUs to 1.049 million TEUs due to
the preference of shippers for the roll on-roll off (ro-ro)
highway.
Passenger traffic grew 0.64% due to more fastcraft and ro-ro
vessels plying the Batangas-Mindoro and Batangas-Romblon,
Batangas-Calapan, and Iloilo-Bacolod trips, as well as more
passengers heading to tourist destinations.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now pilot
testing the container security device (CSD) offered by CommerceGuard
on containers deployed for the Philippine-Korea trade.
In an interview, Customs deputy commissioner Alexander Arevalo,
said the bureau has allowed CommerceGuard to set up limited
facilities within certain customs areas of jurisdiction to
determine the viability of the project.
“I think the CSD offered by CommerceGuard is a viable
project. For the moment, we will use it in the Philippine-Korea
trade then we will determine if we can recommend the CSD for
wider use,” Arevalo said.
The CSD is being marketed in most parts of Asia by Korean
firm Samsung Corporation.
Samsung is shouldering all costs related to the pilot testing.
The use of the CSD is part of the Philippine-Republic of Korea
agreement for the live exchange of customs data in preparation
for implementation of the Asean Single Window by next year.
The Philippines and Korea are also developing a Bilateral
Single-Window to electronically link Philippine and Korean
customs by yearend. The agreement includes a grant to facilitate
the completion of the country’s National Single-Window,
a prelude to the Asean Single Window.
According to the website of GE Security, developer of the
CommerceGuard CSD, the device magnetically adheres to the
inside of an international cargo container and registers any
opening of the container door. Fixed and handheld readers
record its status in a database that can be accessed by authorized
importers, shippers and government officials anywhere in the
world.
Com-merceGuard is now operating in at least 16 ports, including
Singapore, the world’s biggest container port. Starbucks,
YML, GE, Samsung and the US gov-ernment use the device.
BOC: E-submission of manifest in place by next month
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is implementing
next month its requirement for advance electronic submission
of information on all Philippine-bound cargoes. Specifically,
the BOC will require the inward foreign manifest (IFM) on
all sea cargoes be electronically submitted 12 hours before
the shipment gets to Manila. For air cargoes, advance information
is required two hours before shipment arrival.
Customs deputy commissioner Alexander Arevalo, who is in charge
of the technical aspects of the IFM, said the BOC, the Association
of International Shipping Lines and the Philippine Ship Agents
Association will meet this week to finalize an interconnection
agreement.
“With rules already approved by (Finance) Secretary
Teves, we could start requiring the 12-hour advance information
on sea-bound cargoes and two-hour information for air cargoes
by month’s end or latest by December,” Arevalo
said.
“Full implementation of the IFM will be moved to the
first quarter of 2008 to address several aspects of the measure.
But the technical level like the electronic submission of
the manifest will commence immediately upon completion of
the hook-up,” Arevalo explained.
“The BOC believes that the three accredited value-added
service providers, and a fourth one to be accredited by next
month, are enough to handle the volume of data that will come
from carriers, agents and freight forwarders,” Arevalo
said.
The three are InterCommerce Network Service, Cargo Data Exchange
and e-Konek.
DESPITE a slowdown in electronic shipments,
Philippine exports posted modest growth in September, offsetting
the loss registered a month earlier.
According to a report from the National Statistics Office
(NSO), exports grew 4.7% to $4.374 billion from $4.178 billion
in September 2006
Export shipments in August fell 4% from the previous month.
A slowdown in the US economy affected August demand for electronic
products manufactured in the country.
NSO said demand for electronic products will continue to remain
weak, as is the case in neighboring nations.
For the first nine months of 2007 exports increased 4.9% to
$37.203 billion from $35.481 billion during the same nine-month
period in 2006.
The government’s export growth target for the year is
10%.
Electronic shipments dipped 0.2% to $2.656 billion from $2.661
billion in September 2006. Month-on-month shipments, however,
grew 2.5% from P2.592 billion.
Other top exports for September were apparel and clothing
accessories ($193.03 million, down 16.8% from $232.02 million
in September 2006), cathodes and section of cathodes of refined
copper ($126.79 million, up 28.4% from $98.75 million), woodcrafts
and furniture ($88.92 million, up 33.2% from $66.76 million),
and ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles,
aircraft and ships ($85.87 million, up 15.9% from $74.12 million).
The US remains the country’s top export destination
for September review despite a 10.4% in shipments to $741.88
million from $827.72 million in September 2006.
It is followed by Japan, Hong Kong, China, Netherlands, Singapore,
Malaysia, Germany, Korea and Taiwan.
PORT operator International Container Terminal
Services, Inc. (ICTSI) posted a net income of P627 million
in the third quarter of the year, up 35% from the figure posted
a year earlier.
Its nine-month net income also inched up 27% to P1.627 billion
compared to the amount registered last year.
In a report, ICTSI said its third-quarter revenues grew 39%
over P3.02 billion last year, while the third quarter net
income improved 35%, from P464 million in the same period
in 2006.
ICTSI attributed the increase in revenues to the strong performance
of its international operations that account for 63% of this
quarter’s consolidated net income, as compared to 59%
in the third quarter of 2006 and 60% for the full year 2006.
However, ICTSI said the 10% year-on-year appreciation of the
Philippine peso against the US dollar has dampened the impact
of the international operations’ contribution to consolidated
earnings in Philippine peso terms. During the third quarter,
the company earned 74% of its gross revenues in currencies
other than the Philippine Peso.
“ICTSI has delivered another strong quarter of solid
performance. Our four main terminals in Manila, Poland, Brazil
and Madagascar all generated outstanding results, which were
somewhat masked by one-time start-up and transition costs
at our new terminal in Guayaquil, Ecuador and losses at our
terminal in Yantai, China as we continue to transition that
terminal from domestic to international cargo,” said
Enrique Razon Jr., ICTSI chairman and president.
He added that ICTSI is focused on bringing the expanding stable
of newer terminals up to the same levels of profitability
as that of their more mature operations, which should add
further upside to their earnings.
ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 811,049 TEUs during the
third quarter, 53% higher than 530,301 TEUs handled in the
third quarter of 2006. The combined TEU volumes from the company’s
existing port operations grew 20% over the third quarter last
year, accounting for 37% of incremental TEU volume for the
period.
The addition of new port operations in Ecuador, China and
Davao, on the other hand, accounted for 63% of the incremental
TEU volume for the period.
For the nine-month period, total TEUs handled were 2,095,798
compared to 1,448,074 TEUs in 2006 for a 45% increase over
the same period last year.
Domestic operations accounted for 412,945 TEUs handled, or
51% of consolidated volumes, for the quarter in review. This
is a 32 percent increase over the volumes handled in the 2006
third quarter resulting from a 17% growth in volume handled
at the Manila International Container Terminal and new volume
reported by Davao Integrated Port and Stevedoring Services
Corp, ICTSI’s recently acquired operations in Davao,
southern Philippines.
Foreign container volume, on the other hand, grew 82% over
the same period last year to 398,104 TEUs on account of high
volume growths in Brazil, Poland and Madagascar, combined
with new volume handled by our new subsidiaries in China and
Ecuador. Foreign container volume now accounts for 49% of
total as compared with 41% in the third quarter last year.
In the first nine months of 2007, ICTSI invested P9 billion
to fund capacity expansion in Manila, Brazil and Madagascar,
and new businesses/start-up costs in China, Syria, Ecuador,
Colombia and Georgia.
THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is looking
for a way to recover the billions of pesos it will have to
pay Batangas lot owners in case the Supreme Court (SC) affirms
its earlier decision on an expropriation case.
It may be recalled that the SC ordered PPA to pay P11.3 billion
to Batangas lot owners affected by the Batangas port development
program. The PPA is contesting the decision. The port privatization
process, as a result, has been suspended.
A source sitting on the PPA Board said the measures being
eyed are an increase in charges at Batangas port alone or
increasing charges on all ports.
The Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) for Batangas
is reportedly more keen on the first measure as it expects
wider opposition with the second.
“The measure should be put in place before the SBAC
lifts the (privatization process) suspension order. This secures
the investment recovery for the winning bidder if ever the
SC affirms its earlier decision,” the source said.
“The SBAC is rushing the agreement as there is really
a need to immediately lift the suspension and privatize the
port as soon as possible… the PPA can not afford to
delay the process until the court issue is settled.. we can’t
predict how long the court will decide on the case,”
the source added.
Up for grabs is the 25-year management and operation contract
for the international container terminal of Batangas port.
International Container Terminal Services, Inc and Asian Terminals,
Inc are bidding for the contract.
THE Philippine Petroleum Sea Transport Association
(Philpesta) and the Tanker Operators of the Philippines will
meet transport undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista today to
look for ways to relax some provisions of Republic Act 9483
or the Oil Pollution Compensation Act.
“We.. are not opposing the law but only the equipment
needed to comply with the law and the manner of raising funds
provided by the act as this will really burden tanker operators,”
said Roberto Umali, chief of Philpesta member Magsaysay Transport
and Logistics.
He said the law will benefit the country since it provides
immediate access to funds during oil spills but it should
not burden one sector alone. Preventing damage to the marine
environment during such incidents requires a concerted effort,
he added.
