Newsletter #380 (View other news stories)
Melbourne sets container record
MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia
Thursday, 2 Oct 2008
 Image supplied courtesy of Port of Melbourne Corporation. |
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The Port of Melbourne, Australia’s largest container port, has set a new national monthly volume record when it handled over 6,600 containers a day on average in August.
Total container throughput increased by 13% in the month of August to reach a record 205,066 TEU, surpassing the previous monthly high of 202,397 TEU recorded in October 2007.
For the 12 months to August, total container throughput has surged 7.7% to 2.285 million TEU, underpinning Melbourne’s international ranking as the only Australian entry in the world’s top 50 container ports.
Full container exports for August grew 8% compared with the same period last year while full container imports continued their strong growth, increasing 15.2%.
"To put these figures in perspective, the port has handled an extra 70,000 containers in the month of August compared with the same period five years ago in August 2003," explains PoMC chief executive officer, Stephen Bradford.
"The August figures are well above forecast with the seasonally strong pre-Christmas months ahead. Whilst we do retain a positive trade outlook, we are closely watching if the United States’ financial situation impacts on trade and the economy in the months ahead."
The Port of Melbourne handles around 36% of Australia’s container trade.
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