Transshipment container volumes down in first two months as global economy slows

• Volumes declined by 11.2 percent YoY to 857,451 TEUs
• Economic downturn in the Europe and United States major cause for overall slump

Transshipment container volumes at the Port of Colombo declined in the first two months of 2023 amid looming global recession.
In the two-month period, transshipment container volumes declined by 11.2 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) to 857,451 TEUs.

“There’s an overall downturn in volumes due to economic downturn in the Europe and United States. 
Until the fourth quarter of this year, there will be downturn in volumes,” a local shipping agent told Mirror Business.
In February, India’s merchandise exports were down by 8.8 percent YoY to US$ 33.9 billion.

Overall, container throughput at the Port of Colombo declined by 15.1 percent YoY to 1.026 million TEUs in the two-month period. 
Import (laden) container volumes declined by a steep 38.9 percent YoY to 60,491 TEUs while export (laden) container volumes dipped by 15.2 percent YoY to 43,433 TEUs in the period.

Sri Lanka Port Authority-managed Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) and its partially operational East Container Terminal (ECT) handled only 272,942 TEUs in the period, recording a sharp YoY decline of 27.9 percent, due to the notable decline in transshipment container volumes from India.
The port’s only fully operational deep container terminal, Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) managed to handle 494, 648 TEUs in the two-month period, down by 7.4 percent YoY. 

Similarly, the container volumes handled by South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) also declined by 7.4 percent YoY to 258,828 TEUs in the period.  Global shipping giant Moller-Maersk last month warned that lower container volumes and freight rates would drive a four-fold plunge in profits this year.
However, the total ship arrivals to the Port of Colombo rose by 13.1 percent YoY to 654 ships in the period.