Shanghai, Shenzhen ports end year well
Shanghai and Shenzhen, the mainland's two largest ports, posted their strongest performance for 2009 last month, with throughput comparable to levels before the global financial crisis.
However, analysts are not pointing to strong recovery by China's leading ports just yet, saying conditions remain uncertain.
December container throughput in Shanghai, China's largest port and the second-largest in the world, reached 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (teu), a 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase and 8.9 per cent month-on-month rise, according to Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), the port's operator.
It was the first month last year Shanghai's container throughput increased year on year and its highest monthly container throughput for the year, comparable to levels in the first half of 2008.
Shanghai's overall cargo throughput grew a blistering 47.3 per cent year on year to 36.96 million tonnes, a reflection of China's boom in commodity imports.
Shenzhen's container throughput reached 1.76 million teu last month, according to official data, a 4 per cent month-on-month increase and a 5.4 per cent year-on-year increase, the first significant year-on-year increase last year.
'The numbers look a bit warmer, but we expect a turbulent year. We haven't seen shipping lines pulling back their mothballed container ships yet,' said Willy Lin Sun-mo, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council.
This year, the United States Congress might pressure President Barack Obama to impose additional protectionist measures against Chinese exports to the US, on top of recent anti-dumping measures on Chinese steel pipes, said Lin.
'We might be hitting a pretty rough year,' he said.
Nomura analyst Jim Wong said: 'I don't see the December numbers as surprisingly strong. Shanghai did relatively well, but I don't see it hugely above expectations. We expect a recovery in 2010, but it won't be V-shaped but L-shaped.'
Shenzhen's performance was in line with expectations, as most people expected the port to be hit hardest owing to its high exposure to international trade, said Wong
For the whole of last year, Shenzhen's container throughput fell 14.8 per cent to 18.25 million teu, and its cargo throughput fell 8.3 per cent to 194 million tonnes, according to official data. Shanghai fared better, with its container throughput falling 10.7 per cent to 25 million teu last year, while cargo throughput dipped 1.1 per cent to 365 million tonnes, according to SIPG.
Although Shenzhen port as a whole enjoyed year-on-year growth of container throughput last month, Yantian port in east Shenzhen suffered a year-on-year decline, said Wong. Yantian port is jointly owned by Cosco Pacific, a mainland port operator, and Hutchison Port Holdings, which is controlled by Li Ka-shing.
'Yantian has been losing market share in the last several months. Other Shenzhen ports offer lower rates,' said Wong.
