Hong Kong Volume Grows 9.7 Percent in July

Container volume through Hong Kong rose 9.7 percent in July after growing by double digits in each of the year’s first six months, the Hong Kong Port Development Council reported.

Despite the slower growth rate, July’s estimated 2.056 million 20-foot equivalent units still represented Hong Kong’s busiest month this year. July was the fourth consecutive month with volume higher than in the previous month.

By The Numbers: U.S. Container Trade With Mainland China.

Through the first seven months of 2012, Hong Kong handled 13.426 million TEUs, an increase of 14.5 percent from a year earlier and 9.3 percent from the first quarter of this year. First quarter volume was up 17.3 percent from the corresponding period of 2009.

Double-digit growth rates will be more difficult in the second half of 2010 as year-to-year comparisons become tougher. Each month’s volume during the second half of 2009 was higher than the highest monthly number in the first half of 2009.

Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department reported that inbound port cargo measured in tons rose 3 percent to 39.3 million tons in the second quarter while outbound cargo fell 3 percent to 27.9 million tons.

-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com.