SOUTH CHINA PORTS SEE BOX VOLUME RISE

SOUTH CHINA PORTS SEE BOX VOLUME RISE    The three container terminals of South China — Shekou Container Terminals, Yantian Container Terminal and Kaifeng Container Terminals — have continued to enjoy rapid growth in box volumes despite the global trade slowdown, according to Shekou Container Terminals.
   Shekou Container Terminals said that it witnessed a 31-percent year-on-year rate of increase for the four-month period to April compared to the same period last year. It handled a total throughput of 246,633 TEUs at its facility.
   The Shekou terminal operator said that its main competitors — Yantian Container Terminal and Kaifeng Container Terminals — had volume increases of 21 percent and 17 percent, respectively, during the first four months of this year.
   The main shipping line users of the Shekou terminal are Zim Israel Navigation, COSCO Container Lines and the Grand Alliance.
   Meanwhile, the port of Hong Kong reported that a preliminary container throughput for the month of April of 1.54 million TEUs, up by 6 percent over the April 2000 volume. For the first four months of the year, throughput in Hong Kong rose by 5 percent, to 5.7 million TEUs.