Shanghai port cuts 2008 container traffic target
Posted: 22 October 2008 1545 hrs

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SHANGHAI: Shanghai's port, one of the world's busiest, has cut its container traffic target for the year by five per cent, blaming the global financial crisis and an economic slowdown, state media said Wednesday.

The Shanghai International Port Group's handling volume is expected to reach 28.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), less than its earlier target of 30 million TEU, the Shanghai Securities News reported, citing group president Chen Xuyuan.

Lower trade volume due to the weakening global economy, slowing domestic growth and natural disasters in China this year have affected the port's container operations, Chen was quoted as saying.

China's economy expanded by nine per cent in the third quarter, the lowest level in about five years as the global credit crisis put a dent in its booming economy, official data released on Monday showed.

The port operator's container throughput rose 10.4 per cent from a year earlier to 13.82 million TEU in the first half, sharply slower than the growth in 2007, when throughput jumped 20.4 per cent to 26.2 million TEU.

In the first nine months of 2008, container processing in Chinese ports rose 14.9 per cent to 94.5 million TEU, 2.2 per cent lower than the first half, according to Ministry of Transport figures.

- AFP/yt