Southeast Asian ports ready for growth in 2010

Recently in The Container Shipping Manager we looked at the performances of various ports throughout a number of regions the world over.

It came as little surprise to see that China’s ports, while a number suffered declines in 2009, are still the undisputed world leaders in volumes handled. This disparity with the rest of the world should ensure that its position will remain dominant for the foreseeable future.
 
But China’s rise in the shipping industry has been well documented to date. However, rising steadily through the ranks have been the ports of Southeast Asia.
 
Over the past few years ports in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia have been growing at a constant, steady pace, placing the region as the second busiest in terms of port activity in the world, replacing the likes of Hong Kong, Kaohsiung and Busan in north Asia.
 
Today in The Container Shipping Manager we will take a closer look at this exciting region and its prospects for the post-financial crisis period ahead.
 
One of the standout ports in 2009 in the region was the southern Malaysian port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP). It was the only Southeast Asian port to actually record a rise in volumes for the year, up from the 5.6 million TEU to 6.02 million TEU, as reported in our earlier story.
 
Not only was it the only port in Southeast Asia to record growth, the 7.5 per cent jump in container volumes also made it the highest growing port in the world last year.
 
PTP managed to grow while other ports suffered double digit declines in 2009 because of its lower costs and as such was able to attract more customers at a time when shipping lines were desperately seeking to cut their expenses.
 
Aside from the port’s regular customers adding new services last year, PTP also benefited from new customers such as CMA CGM and MISC.