ATI South Harbor slump

ICTSI has welcomed concrete steps taken by the Philippine government to clear Manila ports of overstaying cargo

Foreign container traffic handled by Philippine ports (excluding the autonomous Subic Freeport and Cebu International Port) increased by 12.8% in 2007 to 2.385M TEU, according to official figures newly released by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

Australia’s port, transport and logistics businesses are exploring new alignments and possible takeovers in the wake of Toll Holdings’ acquisition of Patrick, which will leave the merged company 10-15 times larger than its nearest rival.The most promising tie-up looks likely between the state government-owned Queensland Rail, fresh from its own recent purchase of most of the above-rail business of Australian Railroad Group, and P&O Australia, itself just acquired by DP World.

P&O Ports Australia (POPA) has finally made a long-expected move into national intermodal operations, declaring its long-term lease of a new outer-suburban Melbourne facility to be the first of an integrated network.

Nothing is straightforward in the Philippine ports industry and some times it is hard to take anything at face value. More than six months after a court order put a break on its fledgling commercial operations, Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) looks like a ghost town with its two idle Mitsubishi quay cranes and four RTGs. The injunction does not cover cargoes destined for or coming out of the Phividec Industrial Estate, but these have been too few and far between.

Sydney Ports Corporation (SPC) has leased out 12 hectares of port land at Port Botany to three existing operators all suffering space constraints. A tender process for the vacant land at Molineux Point saw Smith Bros, P&O Trans- Australia and Vopak emerge as the successful bidders.