S. Korea's Busan ranks No. 5 in global container handling
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Busan, Republic of Korea's largest port city, retained its No. 5 spot in container handling capacity last year, but seemed to be losing ground to emerging rivals in neighboring countries, a report showed Thursday.
According to the report by the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), Busan handled 11.84 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in 2005, up 3.6 percent from the previous year.
The annual growth rate was down from a 9.8 percent increase recorded in 2004.
Singapore outpaced Hong Kong to become the world's largest container port, handing 23.19 million TEUs, up 8.7 percent from the previous year, the report said.
Hong Kong slipped to the second spot with 22.48 million TEUs, followed by the other Chinese port cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen, which saw their container handling expand 24.2 percent and 18.7 percent to 18.08 million TEUs and 16.20 million TEUs, respectively.
China performed better than other competitors, accounting for 39 percent of the world's total container cargo last year. Eight Chinese cities were included among the top 30 container ports.
"This year, Chinese ports are expected to boost their market share further, outperforming the average global growth consensus of 9 percent to 10 percent," a KMI researcher said, calling for Busan and other ports in Republic of Korea to do more to streamline customs procedures and provide incentives to lure more container cargo.
The source of news : Yonhap News March 23, 2006
