Israeli ports container throughput down 4% to 1.5 TEU in January - September '09

Israel Shippers' Council (ISC) noted last week that in accordance with data provided by the ports, for the period January - September 2009, and analyzed by the ISC, local ports experienced 4% reduction in container movements, compared to the parallel period in 2008. During the first nine months the ports handled TEU 1.5 million, compared to TEU1.57 during the first nine months of 2008.
According to the ISC during the third quarter the ports registered an increase of 12% in containers exported which led to an overall increase of 7% in number of containers handled during the quarter compared to the parallel.
In tonnage terms for the third quarter, the data show a 10% drop compared to the parallel. For the nine months period, January – September ‘09, total tonnage passed through the ports was 25.3 million tons compared to 31.5 million tons in the parallel - a drop of 20%.
According to the ISC the drop in tonnage is attributed to the 54% fall in number of motor vehicles imported during the 9 months period.
The ISC noted that the slow down in ports activity continues into the forth quarter.
In passengers terms the ports have experienced an increase in demand. During the third quarter 192,000 passengers moved through the ports, an increase of 52% compared to the parallel and a sharp 130% increase compared to the second quarter of 2009.