Shanghai International Shipping Institute released the Global Port Development Report for Q1 2018 in May 2018. In the first quarter, the global economy showed clearer signs of recovery, and investment, manufacturing and consumption continued to gain steam. Meanwhile, cargo throughput of the world’s major ports maintained a growth in the first quarter, rising by 3.40% year on year, but the growth rate was 2.92 percentage points lower than the same period last year, due to annual periodical factors and trade protectionism. Overall, the production and operation of global ports slowed down in the first quarter of 2018.

Cargo throughput of the world’s major ports continued to increase in the first quarter and rose by 3.40% year on year. In terms of cargo types, container throughput of the world's major ports showed a stable and sound momentum, growing 6.03% year on year to 77,175,600 TEUs. The overall dry bulk throughput of the world's major ports surged, thanks to the overall growth of global dry bulk trade, which cushioned up the demand for dry bulk cargoes. The overall liquid bulk throughput of the world's major ports showed a polarization trend, as oil throughput of major oil-reserve ports in countries such as Singapore and South Korea declined, while liquid bulk throughput of China and Europe continued to rise.

In the first quarter, global terminal operators’ overall operation remained stable, with increasingly diversified investment. In the quarter, all major terminal operators witnessed slower growth in equity throughput compared with the same period last year, except COSCO Shipping, whose equity throughput surged from the same period last year.

Seven highlights of the global port production situation in the first quarter of 2018 are as follows:

• Throughput growth of Chinese ports slows down

Chinese ports of above a designated size (coastal ports with an annual throughput of above 15 million tons, or inland river ports with an annual throughput of above 10 million tons) handled 3.09 billion tons of cargoes in the first quarter. The growth rate dropped by 4.11 percentage points, which was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2016. From the perspective of cargo throughput for domestic and foreign trade, the growth rate of China’s cargo throughput for domestic trade gradually slowed down, falling by 5.75 percentage points in the first quarter, thanks to the policy adjustment and the robust growth in the first three quarters of last year, which raised the base for growth this year. The cargo throughput in foreign trade was relatively stable, with Chinese ports of above a designated size handling 1.012 billion tons of cargoes for foreign trade, an increase of 5.04% year on year.

• Growth of cargo throughput of Australian ports accelerates

The Australian economy grew steadily in the first quarter. Meanwhile, China, Australia’s largest trade partner, maintained stable import of iron ore from Australia with significantly increased import of coal year on year. Affected by the above factors, the cargo throughput of major Australian ports went up by 7.58% in the first quarter. Specifically, Port of Hedland registered 124 million tons of cargo throughputs in the first quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.0%. However, since the port was closed for two days due to typhoon, the throughput of the first quarter decreased by 7 million tons from the previous quarter. Cargo throughput of the Port of Hay Point surged by 11.1% year on year to 30.317 million tons in the first quarter. Cargo throughput of the Port of Brisbane jumped by 4.11% year on year to 8.5 million tons in the first quarter.

•  Container throughput of American ports falters

Hindered by seasonal adjustment in the first quarter, flagged consumer spending growth and protectionist policies in the United States, container throughput of major container ports in the Americas grew a mere 4.76% year on year to 8,337,800 TEUs in the first quarter. Among the major ports, only Port of Long Beach and Port of Santos witnessed soaring growth in throughput. The throughput of Port of Vancouver, Port of Virginia and Port of Montreal just went up slightly, and those of Port of Los Angeles, Seattle-Tacoma and Houston all suffered declines to different extents.

• Global dry bulk throughput increases overall

As industrialization of emerging markets and developing economies accelerated and infrastructure construction thrived in the ASEAN countries, the world’s dry bulk trade increased in the first quarter, pushing up the demand for dry bulk transportation. As for iron ore, the international iron ore market weakened and the overall iron ore throughput of global ports dropped, as a result of normalized cap on iron ore production out of environmental protection concerns and ports’ high inventories that hindered iron ore imports. Specifically, China's iron ore imports fell slightly by 0.24% to 270.4 million tons. Iron ore throughput fell by 5.29% year on year to negative growth at Port of Hedland, due to the impact of storms and hurricanes. In terms of coal, driven by strong market demand in China and India, global coal prices remained high. In addition to Australia’s stable growth in coal exports, the US coal export volume also grew rapidly thanks to the policy incentives. The overall coal throughput of global ports continued to rise.

• Global ports polarize in liquid bulk throughput

The world's major ports showed a polarization trend in terms of liquid bulk cargo throughput in the first quarter. Among them, liquid bulk throughput in Singapore fell by 7.7% to 55.549 million tons due to seasonal downturn in marine fuel oil and excess fuel oil inventories in the Middle East. Oil product throughput of South Korea decreased by 1.03% to 100.847 million tons as a result of a tighter crude oil supply. After China authorized local refineries to import and use crude oil, local refineries’ demand for crude oil increased rapidly. That coupled with the expansion of strategic inventory reserves and the decline in domestic crude oil production, increased China’s import of crude oil by 21.4% month on month in March, boosting imports in the first quarter to grow 7% year-on-year. The liquid bulk cargo throughput of European and American ports, including that of the Port of Rotterdam, Port of Barcelona and Port of Santos, maintained steady growth.

• Ports’ ranks by cargo throughput fluctuate

In the first quarter, the world’s top 10 ports handled 1.453 billion tons of cargoes, up by 1.65% year on year. However, there was a reshuffle in rankings between the fifth to tenth in the top 10 list. Among them, Port of Guangzhou witnessed 10.96% growth in cargo throughput, surpassing Port of Qingdao to be the fifth largest port. Port of Hedland enjoyed a year-on-year cargo throughput increase of 6.99%, taking the seventh spot in the top 10 club, three notches up in the ranking. Tianjin Port recorded a 7.43% decline year on year, two notches down in the ranking.

Table 1 Global Top 10 Ports in Terms of Cargo Throughput in Q1 2018

Data Source: websites of various port authorities, organized by SISI

• COSCO Shipping Ports’ equity throughput thrives