Statistics on Vessels, Port Cargo and Containers for the Fourth Quarter of 2008

For more information, please contact:
Melissa Ng / David Hsieh at 212-752-3320
Daniel McAtee at 202-238-6360
Wing Yan Tong at 415-835-9315

March 9, 2009 - Hong Kong’s total port cargo throughput in the fourth quarter of 2008 decreased by 6% compared to a year earlier to 61.3 million tonnes, according to statistics on vessels, port cargo and containers for the fourth quarter of 2008, released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today.

Within this total, inward and outward port cargo decreased by 6% and 5% compared to a year earlier to 34.4 million tonnes and 26.9 million tonnes respectively.

For 2008 as a whole, total port cargo throughput increased by 6% compared to a year earlier to 259.4 million tonnes. Within this total, inward and outward port cargo rose by 3% and 9% to 146.0 million tonnes and 113.4 million tonnes respectively.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, total port cargo throughput decreased by 10% in the fourth quarter of 2008. Within this total, inward and outward port cargo decreased by 8% and 12% respectively. The seasonally adjusted series enables more meaningful shorter-term comparison to be made for discerning possible variations in trends.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the port of Hong Kong handled 5.8 million TEUs of containers, representing a decrease of 8% compared to a year earlier.

In 2008, the port of Hong Kong handled 24.5 million TEUs of containers, representing an increase of 2% compared to 2007.

Details of the statistics can be found on the Web site: [http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200903/09/P200903090160.htm] or in the quarterly report “Hong Kong Shipping Statistics”, available on the Web site [www.censtatd.gov.hk/products_and_services/products/publications/index.jsp].