Container traffic soars at Port Klang in first half
The campaign to persuade mainline and feeder operators to call at Port Klang in Malaysia appears to have borne fruit, with containerised traffic shooting up 22.82 per cent to 642,531 teus (20-ft equivalent units) in the first half of this year.
According to a Malaysian Business Times report, volume handled during the same period last year was 523,136 teus.
Port Klang officials say that in terms of growth percentage, box traffic during the first half of 1995-1996 grew at a higher rate than the comparative period of 1994-1995.
More than 30 main lines and consortiums have direct services to Port Klang compared with a handful just a while ago.
The additional calls can be attributed to industrial growth output; joint port promotions by private operators, Klang Port Authority and the government; deregulation; the cutting back of bureaucracy and red tape; and the rising costs of shipping via Singapore.
Reviewing Port Kelang's performance from January to June this year, port officials said Kelang Container Terminal (KCT) was still the leading operator, handling a total of 428,823 teus or 66.74 per cent of Port Kelang's throughput.
