Container shipment volumes at Taiwan's Int'l harbors bottom out.

Taipei, Oct. 21, 2009 (CENS)--Container shipment volumes of Taiwan's three international harbors, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Keelung, appear to have bottomed out, mirroring the gradual recovery of Taiwan's economy.

Taichung performs the best, as its container-shipment volume hit 303,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the third quarter, up 2.73% year-on-year, the only harbor with a positive growth among the three, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday (Oct. 20).

Taichung harbor bureau attributed the exceptional performance to expanded FPD (flat panel display) shipment of AU Optronics, located inside the Central Taiwan Science Park, to the other side of Taiwan Strait, and the shipment of some finished goods back to the harbor.

Container shipment volume of Kaohsiung harbor still dropped 11% year-on-year in the third quarter but the scale of decline was much lower than that in the second quarter. Moreover, the volume rose 4.16% over the second quarter. The volume for the first three quarters reached 6.29 million TEUs and that for the whole year is expected at NT$8.5 million.

Kaohsiung's container shipment volume dropped below the 10 million mark, down 5.66%, or 590,000 TEUs, to 9.67 million TEUs last year, ranking 12th place worldwide, out of the top 10 list. It was overtaken by Guangzhou, Ningbo, and Qingdao.

Shipment volume of Kaohsiung is expected to improve further in the fourth quarter, thanks to the advent of the peak season for the shipping industry, the recovery of the European and U.S. shipping routes, and the expansion of the cross-Taiwan Strait shipment market. In addition, Kaohsiung harbor bureau is seeking cooperation with Chinese harbors, in the hope of achieving a win-win outcome for both sides.

Keelung harbor performs the worst, partly due to the switch of some shipment business to Taipei harbor following its launch in March. Shipment volume of the harbor reached 403,000 TEUs in the third quarter, down 23% year-on-year, and 11.53 million TEUs for the first three quarters, down 27% year-on-year.