Cargo volume handled by Philippine ports increased 4.66% in the first four months of the year to 62.855 million metric tons (mmt) from 60.058 mmt year-on-year, according to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
Of the total, foreign cargoes registered 36.297 mmt, or 5.76% higher than the 34.319 mmt posted in 2013.
Import volume saw a 4.87% uptick while exports recorded a 7% hike.
Domestic cargo volume likewise expanded 3.18% to 26.557 mmt from 25.739 mmt in the same period in 2013.
Container traffic, meanwhile, posted a 3.57% year-on-year increment to 1.73 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from 1.67 million TEUs.
Foreign container throughput rose 4.26%, while import and export container volume grew 4.94% and 1.28%, respectively.
Domestic containerized cargo went up 4.26% to 702,769 metric tons compared to the 674,081 mt registered last year.
Effects of the Manila truck ban policy which came into effect on February 24 began to show in April with box volume down 3.12% to 418,204 TEUs compared to the 431,654 TEUs handled in April of last year, when only the Metro Manila Development Authority truck ban policy was in force.
Foreign boxes dropped 6.05% to 247,547 TEUs.
Import boxes dipped 4.16% to 131,095 TEUs from last year’s 136,779 TEUs, while export boxes registered the biggest fall of 8.1% to 116,452 TEUs from 126,713 TEUs a year ago.
Ship calls weaken
Also posting a decline were ship calls, down 6.97%, of which half of the decline was recorded in April, mostly at Manila ports.
Some shipping lines had skipped Manila due to berthing delays, another consequence of the truck ban.
Total ship calls reached 113,351 for the first four months compared with the 121,841 calls registered in the same period of 2013.
Of the total, ship calls from foreign shipping lines declined 7.25% to 3,225 from 3,477 last year, while calls from domestic vessels fell 7% to 110,126 from 118,364 calls last year.
In April, total calls reached 31,889, or about 3% lower than the 32,893 calls posted in April of 2013. Foreign calls in April of 2014 declined almost 12% to 837 versus the 948 calls in 2013.
“We need a long-term solution to lure those shipping lines to return to the Philippines, and the lifting of the truck ban for the entire Metro for six months is a very good start,” PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana said in a statement.
“Traffic being experienced right now is caused by the de-clogging of the ports brought about by the pile-up of containers brought about by the earlier ban, and we expect that traffic will slowly ease up especially with the run-up to Christmas just around the corner,” Sta. Ana added.
He said PPA continues to “exert extra effort in coming up with a win-win and long-term solution to the current condition through further consultation with the local government, other government agencies concerned and all the port stakeholders like cargo owners, freight forwarders, etc.”
Meanwhile, passenger volume was slightly up 0.58% to 18.716 million for the first four months of 2014 from 18.607 million in the same period last year.
Domestic passengers reached 18.694 million, increasing 0.61% from 18.580 million last year, while foreign passengers went down 21% to 21,842 from 27,540 a year ago.
For April, passenger traffic inched up 8.67% to 6.228 million against the 5.731 million in April 2013. – Roumina Pablo
