INTERNATIONAL seaborne trade increased by 3.6 per cent in 2008 to its highest level ever, but this growth is lower than the previous year, according to UNCTAD's Review of Maritime Transport 2009, which warns that "challenging times lie ahead for the shipping industry as the global economic and financial crisis plays out."
The newly released annual survey that covers an 18-month period from January 2008 through to the middle of 2009 estimates total seaborne trade during 2008 at 8.17 billion tons, a statement released on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's website said.
World container port throughput grew by an estimated four per cent to reach 506 million TEU in 2008, with mainland Chinese ports accounting for 22.6 per cent of the total.
"However, by the end of 2008, sharp falls in throughput were noted in China and at many other ports around the world," the report said.
At the beginning of 2009, fleet capacity reached 1.19 billion deadweight tons, up 6.7 per cent from January 2008, with growth attributed to vessel orders placed before the financial crisis, "when the industry was still expecting continued high growth in demand for shipping," it said.
The survey added that the "volume of container trade collapsed" at the end of 2008, and pointed out that "recently declining trade volumes are occurring at the same time as the world merchant fleet has expanded, exacerbating the situation in the shipping industry."
Source : HKSG, 28.12.09.
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