Spo Shpg Times 6/7/06

Shanghai Port's H1 box volume hits record

(BEIJING) Shanghai International Port (Group) Co, operator of China's busiest container port, handled a record number of containers in the first half as the nation's economic growth boosted demand to move freight by sea.

Container volume rose 18 per cent from a year earlier to 10.1 million standard 20-foot boxes in the first six months, the state-controlled company said on its website.

Total cargo volume rose 7.5 per cent to 143 million tons during the period, it added.

Rising trade volume in China, the world's fourth-largest economy, has boosted freight traffic at Shanghai, Tianjin and other Chinese ports.

Shanghai was the world's third-busiest container port by cargo volume last year. An estimated 90 per cent of global trade is shipped by sea.

Total throughput of China's coastal and river ports may have risen 21 per cent from a year earlier to 2.2 billion tons in the first half, while the number of container handled increased 23 per cent to 42.2 million boxes, according to the Ministry of Communications.

Shanghai Port handled 18.08 million standard 20-foot containers last year, an increase of 24 per cent from 2004.

The company has said it made a 2005 profit of 2.16 billion yuan, without giving a year-earlier comparison.

Like other port operators in China, Shanghai International is expanding capacity to meet demand. The company is an investor in the US$16 billion Yangshan port, which is expected to double Shanghai's cargo capacity by 2010.

To hasten expansion, Shanghai International is also seeking its first investment outside China.

It plans to buy stakes in cargo terminals in Europe and aims to make investments within the year, the company said earlier. - Bloomberg