Across the global portfolio of DP World container terminals, container volumes fell by 7.9 percent in the April to June quarter and 3.9 percent in the first half of 2020 against the industry average decline of 15 per cent and 10 per cent, according to a statement by the company.
But participation in an important global alliance helped arrest the decline. The Dubai-based DP World is affiliated with THE Alliance, which includes the NYK Line, Hapag-Lloyd, “K” Line, Yang Ming Line, and MOL.
“The leading container hubs still call the shots, thanks to the networks of the three powerful alliances — 2M, Ocean Alliance, and THE Alliance — which have consolidated and strengthened the dominance of the Le Havre-Hamburg port range with the top duo, Rotterdam and Antwerp, significantly increasing their traffic thanks to the economic revival across the continent. These alliances can also make or break ports’ ambitions, particularly across the competitive northwest European waterfront,” the JOC writes.
The port operator handled 33.9 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) in the first half with gross container volumes decreasing by 5.3 percent year-on-year on a reported basis and down 3.9 percent on a like-for-like basis.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive officer, DP World, said, “Like most industries, the maritime and logistics sector is going through an unprecedented and challenging period due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, our portfolio has seen volumes weaken in the second quarter of 2020.”
“However, this compares favourably against the estimated industry average decline. This outperformance once again demonstrates that we are in the right locations and a focus on the origin and destination cargo will continue to deliver the right balance between growth and resilience.”
In 2019, DP World PLC handled 17.7 million TEU across its global portfolio of container terminals in the third quarter of 2019, with gross container volumes growing by 1.1 per cent year-on-year on a like-for-like basis. On a nine-month basis, like-for-like gross container volumes grew by +0.7 per cent year-on-a year to 53.5 million TEU.
Discussion about this post