Hong Kong's January container volume up 1.2%

Hong Kong port handled 1.2 per cent more containers in January than a year earlier.

Cargo volume at Hong Kong rose to 1.9 million TEU last month, according to preliminary figures posted on the Port Development Council's website recently. Last year, volume rose a revised 3.1 percent to 23.3 million containers.

China's exports surged 33 percent last month from a year earlier, while imports rose 27.5 per cent, driving up demand for shipments at Hong Kong and other ports. Hong Kong mainly handles goods made in China and elsewhere, and then sent to the city for re-distribution.

Singapore, the world's biggest container port, handled 2.17 million TEU in January, 11 percent more than a year earlier, the port authority said. Last year, traffic rose 6.9 per cent to 24.8 million boxes.

Growth in Hong Kong's container traffic has slowed because of competition from Shenzhen and other southern Chinese ports, which are winning customers through low prices.

Volumes at the Kwai Tsing terminals, where more than 60 percent of Hong Kong's sea cargo is processed, rose 12 percent to 1.36 million boxes last month. Hutchison and PSA have a venture that manages 11 berths at the terminals.