Container traffic grows steadily in Singapore
The Port of Singapore saw continuing growth in 2011 even as the City-State’s economy slowed sharply.
Container movements through the port grew by 5.3% through 2011 to a total of 29.9m TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). This is a record level for the port, surpassing the previous high seen in 2008. Gross tonnage of vessels increased at a more rapid rate of 10.5%, indicating possibly that oil and gas related activities as well as chemical production may be increasing faster than container traffic. Container shipping remains the most important trade for Singapore at 31% of tonnage, although tanker traffic accounted for only slightly less in 2011 at 30.8% of tonnage.
Traditionally, Singapore has a distinct pattern of trade for its container traffic, with transhipment activities accounting for a high proportion of traffic. This is also reflected in other activities at the port, such as oil and gas shipments, where the port is a key hub for energy products for much of South East Asia and beyond. However, the Port of Singapore has recently expanded its chemical production facilities substantially and this is a significant consumer of oil products as well as a major exporter of bulk chemical shipments.
Singapore is no longer the largest port in the world, having been overtaken by the Port of Shanghai a couple of years ago. The Chinese complex of terminals is believed to have had a total container throughput volume of over 31m TEU in 2011. However, Shanghai is a very different type of port to Singapore, with a high proportion of transhipment traffic orientated towards Yangtze river transport. By the standards of significant growth seen on the Chinese mainland, the Port of Singapore’s progress has been restrained, with a less than 10% total increase in container traffic over the past four years.
At approximately 7% of GDP, the Port of Singapore is still a significant part of the City-State’s economy. Although the port still has enormous importance for the entire South-East Asian region, its role may be changing. New ports in neighbouring countries, as well as in China, give more options for direct calls for vessels; something that eats into the gross market share of Singapore. However, Singapore is looking to gain more added value from both its containerised and non-containerised traffic, through greater manufacturing activities – such as the chemical sector – as well as logistics operations such as region distributions hubs.
Quelle: eyefortransport
Portal: www.logistik-express.com