The MSAR saw triple-digit growth in the amount of outward port cargo discharged, originating in Hong Kong, during the fourth quarter of 2016, as compared to the same quarter the previous year, according to the Hong Kong Shipping Statistics from the Census and Statistics Department of the neighbouring SAR.
The cargo posted an 118.1 per cent increase in outward port cargo tonnage discharged in the MSAR, according to the data.
The majority of cargo shipped out was destined for the Mainland, making up 52 per cent of the total whilst the cargo arriving in Macau made up for 5 per cent of that loaded in terms of tonnage, ahead of both the United States and Japan, which both saw 4 per cent of the total. Trailing these were Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand with 3 per cent each, followed by Korea and Malaysia which received 2 per cent each of the total port cargo tonnage outbound.
In total, 85 per cent of China-bound cargo went to the Pearl River Delta region, notes the data.
Of the outbound cargo loaded the vast majority was classified as ‘crude materials, inedible, except fuels’ at 39 per cent of the total, while the manufactured goods segment made up 26 per cent of the total. The third highest output cargo was chemicals and related products, at 15 per cent whilst food, beverages and tobacco comprised 11 per cent of the total cargo loaded during the fourth quarter.
Plying the sea
Regarding vessel origins, none of the 47,097 vessels arriving during the fourth quarter, or of the 185, 011 which arrived during the course of 2016, carried the Macau flag. By far the largest amount carried that of the Mainland, at 25,596 during the quarter, trailed by Hong Kong, at 16,415 vessels. The third highest country of origin in terms of vessel numbers was Panama, at 1,232 vessels during the quarter and 4,807 during the year.
Regarding the amount of imports from the MSAR, in terms of weight the MSAR imported 28 per cent more year-on-year during the fourth quarter of last year, hitting 63,000 tonnes; however, it only saw a 13 per cent increase for the whole of 2016, when compared to the previous year, at 165,000 tonnes.
Exports to the MSAR underwent a 135 per cent increase during the fourth quarter of the year, hitting 1.45 million tonnes whilst the whole year saw a 169 per cent uptick in export tonnage, at 4.95 million tonnes.
The number of laden TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers which travelled to Macau from the HKSAR amounted to 12 in the fourth quarter of last year, a 15 per cent increase year-on-year; however, only 41 containers were received during the whole year, representing a 35 per cent year-on-year drop.
Coming from the MSAR, only two containers were received, a 9 per cent year-on-year drop during the fourth quarter, while an 11 per cent year-on-year drop was posted throughout the whole year as only seven containers arrived from the MSAR.
