Port Traffic Metrics: Caribbean/Latin America, Northwest Seaport Alliance
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Caribbean-Latin America Region Port Container Throughput Up 1.7% in 2015
Container cargo movements through Latin American and Caribbean ports totaled some 48 million TEUs in 2015, an increase from 2014 of just 1.7 percent, according to data compiled by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
ECLAC, an agency of the United Nations based in Santiago de Chile, says the figures point to a continuing slowdown in foreign trade and great heterogeneity of the growth rates inside the region.
The top 40 ports in ECLAC’s ranking accounted for nearly 90 percent of the regional total, with 98 smaller ports sharing the remaining 10 percent (or 5.9 million TEUs).
Sub-regionally, the 2015 data show a 1.4 percent drop for East Coast South America (mainly due to reduced activity in Brazil), a 1.1 percent increase for West Coast South America (where gains by Ecuador and Colombia offset stagnation in Chile and a decline in Peru), a 3.4 percent increase for Central America (down from 3.5 percent in 2014), and a 0.1 percent gain for the Caribbean ports.
Countries with the greatest increases were: Colombia (+13.1 percent), Nicaragua (+24.4 percent), Barbados (+10.3 percent), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (+11.3 percent), Monserrat (+11.7 percent), and Anguilla (27.7 percent). Declines were posted by: Argentina (-0.3 percent), Brazil (-2.1 percent), Peru (-3.6 percent), Puerto Rico (-8.3 percent), Trinidad & Tobago (-12.4 percent), and Venezuela (-22.2 percent). In Mexico, the growth rate increased from 3.8 percent in 2014 to 7.4 percent in 2015. In Central America, reduced growth in Panama masked gains for El Salvador (+6.4 percent), Guatemala (+6.9 percent), Honduras (+8.9 percent) and Nicaragua (+24.4 percent).
Strong export volumes through The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s marine terminals in Seattle and Tacoma hint at a better 2016 outlook than predicted, with full containerized exports up 15 percent year to date in April.
Both full containerized exports and imports posted 7 percent gains last month compared to April 2015. The April numbers mark the first month-on-month comparison that does not reflect cargo volumes impacted by last year’s contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Year to date, the Puget Sound gateway’s container volumes are flat at 1,080,957 TEUs. Full exports are up 15 percent year to date to 310,099 TEUs, and full imports are flat at 415,407 TEUs. Empty container volumes are down 16 percent year to date, and domestic volumes continue to lag due a weaker Alaskan economy.
Auto imports continue to be a bright spot for non-container cargo, up nearly 9 percent year to date in April to 62,113 units. Breakbulk cargo—items too large or bulky to fit in a container—are down 36 percent year to date to 61,097 metric tons. According to the Alliance, the dip reflects slowing economic growth in China and the impact of lower oil prices.
View the Alliance’s April 2016 reports by clicking here for container volumes and here for cargo statistics.
Container cargo movements through Latin American and Caribbean ports totaled some 48 million TEUs in 2015, an increase from 2014 of just 1.7 percent, according to data compiled by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
ECLAC, an agency of the United Nations based in Santiago de Chile, says the figures point to a continuing slowdown in foreign trade and great heterogeneity of the growth rates inside the region.
The top 40 ports in ECLAC’s ranking accounted for nearly 90 percent of the regional total, with 98 smaller ports sharing the remaining 10 percent (or 5.9 million TEUs).
Sub-regionally, the 2015 data show a 1.4 percent drop for East Coast South America (mainly due to reduced activity in Brazil), a 1.1 percent increase for West Coast South America (where gains by Ecuador and Colombia offset stagnation in Chile and a decline in Peru), a 3.4 percent increase for Central America (down from 3.5 percent in 2014), and a 0.1 percent gain for the Caribbean ports.
Countries with the greatest increases were: Colombia (+13.1 percent), Nicaragua (+24.4 percent), Barbados (+10.3 percent), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (+11.3 percent), Monserrat (+11.7 percent), and Anguilla (27.7 percent). Declines were posted by: Argentina (-0.3 percent), Brazil (-2.1 percent), Peru (-3.6 percent), Puerto Rico (-8.3 percent), Trinidad & Tobago (-12.4 percent), and Venezuela (-22.2 percent). In Mexico, the growth rate increased from 3.8 percent in 2014 to 7.4 percent in 2015. In Central America, reduced growth in Panama masked gains for El Salvador (+6.4 percent), Guatemala (+6.9 percent), Honduras (+8.9 percent) and Nicaragua (+24.4 percent).
Ranked by TEU throughput, the top ports in 2015, according to ECLAC, were: Santos (Brazil), Colón (Panama), Balboa (Panama), Cartagena (Colombia), Manzanillo (Mexico), Callao (Peru), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Kingston (Jamaica), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Freeport (Bahamas). View 2015-2013 TEU data for the ECLAC region’s top 100 container ports.
Seattle/Tacoma: Despite Export Boost, NWSA Container Volumes Flat Through AprilStrong export volumes through The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s marine terminals in Seattle and Tacoma hint at a better 2016 outlook than predicted, with full containerized exports up 15 percent year to date in April.
Both full containerized exports and imports posted 7 percent gains last month compared to April 2015. The April numbers mark the first month-on-month comparison that does not reflect cargo volumes impacted by last year’s contract negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Year to date, the Puget Sound gateway’s container volumes are flat at 1,080,957 TEUs. Full exports are up 15 percent year to date to 310,099 TEUs, and full imports are flat at 415,407 TEUs. Empty container volumes are down 16 percent year to date, and domestic volumes continue to lag due a weaker Alaskan economy.
Auto imports continue to be a bright spot for non-container cargo, up nearly 9 percent year to date in April to 62,113 units. Breakbulk cargo—items too large or bulky to fit in a container—are down 36 percent year to date to 61,097 metric tons. According to the Alliance, the dip reflects slowing economic growth in China and the impact of lower oil prices.
View the Alliance’s April 2016 reports by clicking here for container volumes and here for cargo statistics.
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