UCL Port freight throughput rose 9% in H1 to 15.4 million tonnes
Cargo volume handled at the terminals UCL Port, a stevedoring division of UCL Holding, in the first six month of the year totaled 15.4 million tonnes, which represents a 9% increase from H1 2013 figures, the UCL Port said.
The six-month throughput growth was driven by exports which increased by 1.5 million tonnes, including a 16% gain in the dry bulk segment (11.9 million tonnes).
Handling of liquid cargo fell 8% year-on-year to 3.5 million tonnes.
In the reporting period the outbound cargo share to 84.4% (or 13 million tonnes), while imports accounted for only 15.6% (2.4 million tonnes) of total freight volume.
There was a dramatic growth in the segment of bulk suction cargo, the volume of which jumped by 28% to 5.5 million tonnes.
The Group attributed the positive trend, primarily to a five fold surge in export grain volume (to 1 million tonnes), mainly by increasing supply and the range of goods at the port of Tuapse, the company said.
Shipments of energy products to European consumers contributed to a 8% growth (to 3.4 million tonnes) in coal volumes, primarily at the Multipurpose Handling Complex.
Some improvements in technology of handling mineral fertilizers at Sea Port St. Petersburg enabled the company to increase the cargo throughput by 14% to 500,000 tonnes.
The six-month volume of general cargo increased by 6.7% to 4.2 million tonnes. Gradual recovery in the world's markets helped maintain a strong performance in the segment of ferrous metals to 2.2 million tonnes with a 10% seasonal gain. Shipments of scrap metal leaped by as much as two times to 0.9 million tonnes. However, the company saw in the six month period a 38% slump in non-ferrous metals (aluminum) to 0.6 million tonnes due to market factors.
The terminal operator reported a negative trend for the January-July period in the segment of imported vehicles, which resulted in a 21% decline to 25,900 cars. The figure is attributed to increased number of car assembly plants in Russia.
UCL Port saw a 8% drop in oil cargo volume to 3.5 million tonnes, due to the shift of crude export flow to the Port of Tuapse, to Rosneft own terminals and due to the reconstruction of Tuapse refinery. N
In the first half of the year container traffic was down 2% to 206,000 TEUs. The figure reflects the overall trend in the stevedoring market and was driven by a decrease in imports due to declining demand and the rouble weakening early this year versus a basket of major currencies. The share of loaded containers increased in total exports volume, which resulted in a 10% gain to 2.1 million tonnes.
Universal Cargo Logistics Holding (UCL Holding) is an international transportation holding company that is comprised of: stevedoring companies of Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg and Universal Handling Complex in the North-West Russia; Tuapse and Taganrog ports in the South of the country; Volga Shipping, North-West Shipping and Western Shipping companies; as well as a number of shipbuilding, shipping, railway and logistics assets. The group's business is divided into three divisions: UCL Rail, UCL Port and VBTH.
UCL Port consolidates JSC Sea Port St. Petersburg, CJSC Container Terminal Saint Petersburg, Universal Handling Terminal LLC based in North-West of Russia, the southern ports of Taganrog and Tuapse.
Stevedoring assets of UCL Port handle a wide range of goods, including metals, coal, grain, fertilizers, oil and petroleum products. The total storage area operated by the group's companies encompasses nearly 700,000 sqm. Total quay length is about 10 km.