COSCO Pacific volume down 6.7% in July

COSCO Pacific volume down 6.7% in July    Terminal operator COSCO Pacific said Monday that volume at its terminals declined 6.7 percent in July to 3.78 million TEUs, compared to the same month in 2008.
   That compares favorably to the 8.2 percent drop in volume to 23.9 million TEUs, for the year through July. However, volume at COSCO's major terminals continued to shed significant throughput.
   Volume fell 13.4 percent at the company's Shanghai terminals (to 441,00 TEUs), 19.5 percent at its Hong Kong terminal (to 130,000 TEUs), and 16.7 percent at its Yantian terminal (710,000). Those declines are in line with yearlong volume drops at the terminals in China's three biggest container ports.
   COSCO's terminals in the northern Bohai Bay region continue to be a source of strength. Volume in Qingdao was up 2.8 percent to 848,600 TEUs, and Tianjin improved 11 percent to 183,700 TEUs. Throughput at its Dalian terminals in July was about even with July 2008 at 394,400 TEUs.