Shenzhen handled 5.5 million teu in the first seven months, up a comparative 40.4 per cent, according to the Shenzhen Municipal Port Bureau.

Container throughput grew 42 per cent year on year in the first half.

Despite slower growth, the annual throughput target of 9.5 million boxes would remain unchanged, said bureau director Zhou Tianlin, adding that Shenzhen ports would probably stay ahead of Kaohsiung and continue to be the world's No5 port in terms of global throughput this year.

'I think we will continue to stay ahead of Kaohsiung if there's no major disturbance in trade,' said Mr Zhou.

'But the growth rate of container throughput slowed a bit last month. We are not sure about the reason. Maybe it showed some impact from Sars.'

Sunny Ho Lap-kee, executive director of the Hong Kong Shippers Council, said the impact of Sars and the Iraq war slowed growth in container movements.

Merchandise purchases from the United States were delayed and freight rate increases in May also prompted shippers to move their goods out of south China earlier than is traditional for peak shipping seasons.

'The demand from Europe is good because of the strong euro. But vessels bound for the US are only 90 per cent full, showing slow demand,' said Mr Ho. 'Not only in Shenzhen, Hong Kong also showed negative growth in June. Initial reports indicate the figure for July was not satisfactory either.'

One carrier executive said the peak season this year had been eaten up by the Sars outbreak and that he expected volume to remain even throughout the year.

'The growth rate will stabilise in the second half. People are expecting a delayed peak season, but there won't be an obvious peak season this year. Cargo volume will be more evenly distributed throughout the year,' he said.

One analyst said the volume growth in Shenzhen, at 40 per cent, remained remarkable, given last year's comparatively high base.

Michael Chan, Bank of China International's head of research, transport and logistics, said it was normal for growth rates to stabilise after a strong rise the year before.

'People should note that it's hard to repeat the 60 or 70 per cent growth like we saw last year. The base is getting bigger,' he said.

'I don't think there's a slowdown in Shenzhen. The strong growth demonstrated in the first six months basically came from the first quarter, as the base in 2002 was low due to the September 11 terrorist attacks.'

Mr Chan said robust exports from the Pearl River Delta would continue in the foreseeable future. But he warned of capacity problems in Shenzhen, especially Yantian, on the delta's east.

'Yantian Phase I and Phase II are designed to handle 4.5 million teu a year. That capacity is maxed out at the moment. Besides, its road network is bad. Not only are vessels lining up, trucks are lining up too,' he said.

The Hutchison Whampoa-owned and managed facility remained the busiest port in Shenzhen in the first seven months, handling 2.76 million teu, up a comparative 28 per cent.

Ports in western Shenzhen reported remarkable growth, with container throughput at Shekou Container Terminal jumping almost 83 per cent year on year in the seven months to 767,900 teu.

Chiwan Container Terminal handled 853,000 boxes, up a comparative 36.5 per cent. Cargo throughput at CM Ports Service, Chiwan's smaller facility, grew more than 36 per cent year on year to 461,800 teu.

'The strong growth shown in the western Shenzhen ports, appears to indicate some cargo has spilled over to where the infrastructure and facilities recently expanded. Many shipping lines launched new services to the western ports [in the first half],' said Mr Chan.