First five months
up 19%, writes Terry Hutson
THE PORT of Durban's container terminal has been extremely busy this year as can be seen by a 19.51% increase in container handling for the first five months compared with the same period last year.
An unprecedented growth pattern, which emerged during the last quarter of 1999, is continuing well into 2000, and with the traditionally busy months still to come the terminal is on line for a record year. It now seems likely that the port will do well in excess of the previous highest figure of 1 079 692 TEUs(twenty foot equivalent units) achieved in 1998. The talk is now of a 17% growth for the year.
Up to and including May 486 879 TEUs were handled in Durban (407 370 last year). Imports and exports are up by 20.67% and 19.78% respectively while local tranships have risen 10.7% for the five months.
This has been achieved without noticeable congestion, and seems to suggest that the introduction of the infamous Cosmos computer system last July was timely. While productivity at the terminal has yet to reach world (or even previous Portnet) standards there have been only isolated reports of delays to ships.
Talk of 17% annual growth
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