Container throughput in Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, fell 5.7% last month from May, because of the weak global economy and the decline in mainland manufacturing, analysts said.
In Hong Kong, which has slipped to the world’s fourth-busiest container port, behind Shenzhen, container throughput fell 9.1% in the year’s first five months fro the same period last year — the worst performance since its 14.1% drop in 2009 during the global financial crisis, the Hong Kong Port Development Council said.
Shanghai’s container throughput was 2.77 million twenty-foot equivalent units ( teu ) last month, a year-on-year decrease of 0.06%, according to the website of Shanghai International Port ( Group ), operator of the city’s ports. It was a pullback from container throughput growth in March, April and May, which was in single-digit percentage rates.
“ With China’s rising labour cost, the outsourcing trend is ending. So, it would be normal if in future China’s export growth were to be more in line with developed countries like the U.S., in the low single digits, “ said Jefferies analyst Li Boyong.
~SCMP, July 4, 2013 ~