The Philippine Ports Authority discounted the possibility of port congestion despite the expected upsurge in cargo volumes in the last three months of the year.
PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the country’s cargo volume climbed another 11 percent in the first seven months of the year from a year ago.
“Despite the surging numbers, we guarantee that our ports remain clogged-free and can accommodate the increasing cargo, passenger and ship call volumes,” Santiago said.
“The strong performance of the cargo segment underscores the country’s economic resilience. The strong numbers in the passage sector also suggests the continuing vibrancy of both the local and international travel industries and more people are now considering traveling using ships,” he added.
Combined yard utilization at the Manila ports is now at 40 percent, with approximately 32,600 TEUs inside the terminals while yard productivity ranges from 20-30 moves an hour.
Santiago attributed the efficient yard management in the Manila terminals partly to the recently-imposed truck Terminal Appointment Booking System. The new system improved port efficiency by at least 96 percent.
Prior to the TABS, the average daily gateouts at the Manila ports was at 4,500 to 5,000 TEUs compared with the post-TABS imposition of 7,000 to 7,500 TEUs daily gateouts.
“With this kind of yard utilization, we can say that Philippine ports are ready to handle the expected increase in the volume of cargo due to the run-up to Christmas,” Santiago said.
Data from the PPA showed that total cargo throughput reached 141.770 million metric tons this year from 128.217 mmt registered in the first seven-months of 2015.
Foreign cargo volume rose 12 percent to 86.302 mmt while domestic traffic recorded a nine percent increase.
Passenger volume rose 11 percent to 42.492 million in the same period, up from 38.213 million last year.
Foreign passengers rose 69 percent to 71,514, while domestic volume posted an 11 percent increase to 42.420 million.
Manila International Container Terminal Services Inc. remained the country’s top handler of foreign boxes, processing 1.241 million TEUs for the first seven months of the year, followed by the Manila South Harbor with 584,598 TEUs.