Hisane Masaki, Special Correspondent | Apr 10, 2012 1:16PM EDT
Japanese containerized cargo trade will rise 3.3 percent in fiscal 2012, which started on April 1, from fiscal 2011 to 12.8 million 20-foot equivalent units, a Tokyo-based research firm predicted in a new report.
The pace of growth in Japanese containerized cargo trade will quicken from an estimated 0.8 percent in fiscal 2011, Nittsu Research Institute and Consulting, Inc. said.
In fiscal 2011, containerized cargo exports from nine major Japanese ports are estimated to have fallen 3.8 percent, while containerized cargo imports there are estimated to have increased 4.2 percent on a year-over-year basis, NRIC said.
NRIC said that containerized cargo exports will regain growth in fiscal 2012, reflecting a sharp decline in the first half of fiscal 2011 due to the effects of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan. But the pace of growth in containerized cargo exports will be mild due to weak global economic growth, NRIC said.
According to NRIC’s report, loaded container cargo exports from the nine major Japanese ports are projected to rise 3.2 percent in fiscal 2012 to 5.276 million TEUs, while loaded container cargo imports there are projected to rise 3.4 percent in fiscal 2012 to 7.546 million TEUs.
NRIC is a subsidiary of Nippon Express Co., Japan’s largest international freight forwarder.
The nine ports, which include the Port of Tokyo, the Port of Yokohama, the Port of Nagoya, the Port of Osaka and the Port of Kobe, account for about 90 percent of Japan’s total containerized cargo trade -- both exports and imports.
Contact Hisane Masaki at yiu45535@nifty.com.