DESPITE registering dynamic growth in both passenger and cargo volumes in the first seven months of the year, the country’s seaports are far from being congested and can still accommodate more traffic.
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said traffic in and out of the various ports in the country remained free flowing, despite cargo volume reaching 141.77 million metric tons (MMT), and passenger volume hiking by 11 percent to 42.492 million through end-July.
“The strong performance of the cargo segment underscores the country’s economic resilience. The strong numbers in the passage sector also suggest the continuing vibrancy of both the local and international travel industries, and more people are now considering traveling using ships,” Santiago said.
“Nonetheless, despite the surging numbers, we guarantee that our ports remain clog-free, and can accommodate the increasing cargo, passenger and shipcall volumes,” he said.
Santiago said the ports of Agusan, Mindoro, Panay-Guimaras, National Capital Region, North and Negros Oriental-Siquijor posted the biggest growth percentage in local and foreign cargo, while the North Harbor in Manila remains the top performer in terms of domestic cargo volume.
Containerized cargo traffic, meanwhile, soared 9 percent for the period under review to 3.676 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), from 3.368 million TEUs last year.
The Manila International Container Terminal Services Inc. remains the country’s top handler of foreign cargo, processing 1.241 million TEUs for the period in review, followed by the Manila South Harbor handling 584,598 TEUs.
Shipcalls for the period went up by 9 percent, from 234,468 in 2015 to 255,037 this year. Domestic and foreign shipcalls grew by 8.45 percent and 21.91 percent, respectively.
At the moment, combined yard utilization at the two Manila ports is at 40 percent, meaning approximately 32,600 TEUs are inside the terminals, while yard productivity remains high, ranging from 20 to 30 movements an hour.
The efficient yard management for both terminals is attributed partly to the truck Terminal Appointment Booking System imposed recently that catapulted port efficiency by at least 96 percent. Prior to it, the average daily gateouts at the Manila ports was at 4,500 TEUs to 5,000 TEUs, as compared to the post-TABS imposition of 7,000 TEUs to 7,500 TEUs daily gateouts.
“With this kind of yard utilization, we can say Philippine ports are ready to handle the expected increase in the volume of cargo due to the run-up to Christmas,” Santiago said.