Throughput at the Port of Hong Kong fell again in August for the seventh month in a row to 1.64 million TEU, 4.3% lower than the 1.72 million TEU moved in the previous corresponding period.
For the year-to-date, the cumulative slowdown in pace is starting to drag, with overall throughput down 4.3% compared to the first eight months of 2017, with volume of 13.16 million TEU.
The main Kwai Tsing terminals saw fall 3.1% in August to 1.29 million TEU from 1.34 million TEU in August 2017, which was also a slower pace of decline than the preceding month, when throughput fell 8.1% in July.
The non-Kwai Tsing terminals saw a slightly steeper fall of 5.7% to 355,000 TEU. A relatively high base in the high season third quarter months in 2017 will mean these midstream operators will likely continue to see drops in volume unless they pick up the pace. With the inclement weather seen in September, this seems unlikely. For the year-to-date, non-Kwai Tsing throughput fell 4.9% to 2.82 million TEU.
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