ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

Port confident of achieving 8% growth this year

GELANG PATAH: Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) expects a healthy and sustainable growth this year despite operating in a challenging business environment.

The positive outlook is based on the port’s outstanding performance in the first half of 2010 when it registered 13% growth compared with the same period the previous year.

In May this year, its monthly throughput volume stood at 572,444 20-ft equivalent units (TEUs), the highest ever handled in a single month since it started operations 10 years ago.

Prior to that, the highest number of containers handled in a single month was 557,693 TEUs in August 2009.

PTP’s monthly throughput volume in May stood at 572,444 TEUs, the highest ever handled in a single month since it started operations 10 years ago.

 “We managed to increase the number of containers handled and achieved the highest growth among the world’s top 20 container ports in 2009,” an official from PTP told StarBiz.

He said the achievement was commendable despite last year’s sluggish economy, which saw a drastic downturn in the containerised traffic sector worldwide.

Industry reports have listed only four of the world’s top 20 container ports that recorded growth in 2009, and all of them are in the region.

The four ports were PTP, which recorded 2.4% growth, and three Chinese ports – Qingdao (2.4%), Tianjin (2.3%) and Guangzhou (1.7%). Other heavyweights such as Singapore’s PSA experienced a drop of 13.5%, Hong Kong down by 14.3% and Shanghai by 10.7%.

The International Monetary Fund said in a report recently that the global economy was recovering better than expected but at varying speeds.

While most of the emerging and developing countries are experiencing steady growth, the growth in developed countries is not that impressive.

The United States and European economies are beginning to see a dip and the current downtrend in global container traffic would continue until the year-end.

“But we are confident that PTP will record 6.5 million TEUs this year, representing 8% growth from six million TEUs handled in 2009,” the official said.

He added that PTP would maintain its efficient services and provide top-notch services at competitive cost to clients.

Crane moves at the port now averaged 34 to 35 per hour, which is way higher than the industry average of 28 moves per hour.

He said PTP handled close to 80 vessel calls a week and with the current berths and 44 quay cranes, the port could handle up to nine million TEUs.

By: ZAZALI MUSA

AS the economy shifts to a lower gear, it may be the right time for the local port industry to focus on improving infrastructure and raising efficiency levels.

This will enable port operators to provide cost-effective services to customers in the near term while ensuring that when the world trade picks up, they are able to seize the opportunities in the longer term.

In recent years, major ports in Malaysia have utilised almost full capacity to cater to the booming business, which in turn has prompted them to embark on major expansions.

According to Malaysia’s Maritime Institute senior fellow Nazery Khalid, it is crucial for local ports to continually improve their infrastructure, efficiency, productivity and performance to offer customers value for money, especially in this climate that is proving to be extremely challenging for the shipping industry.

“Unlike Westports, Northport and Port of Tanjung Pelepas, which are on par with the world’s best container ports, there are some other local ports that can improve their services.

“The other local ports must benchmark themselves against regional heavyweights like the Singapore Port, Shanghai Port and Hong Kong Port which are among the world’s top five container ports in terms of volume.

“Malaysian ports can certainly improve on many fronts to enhance their competitiveness to attract more main-line operators (shipping companies) to call at their terminals,” he adds.

He suggests that port operators thoroughly assess their current positions and chart their next course of action to weather the global economic downturn.

“Amid the economic and seaborne trade slowdown, port operators must plan their resources meticulously and find ways to harness their strengths to place themselves on a stronger platform.

“Now is the time to identify areas of weaknesses which they may have overlooked during busier times,” Nazery says.

As the most cost-efficient mode of trade transport, where 90% of goods are transported via sea, the shipping industry is vulnerable to any slowdown in the world economies against a backdrop of declining trade volume.

On the flip side, it is also well positioned to benefit from the up-tick in economic activity.

By SHARIDAN M.ALI