PSA REPORTS 26% JUMP ON 1ST-HALF GLOBAL CONTAINER VOLUME

PSA REPORTS 26% JUMP ON 1ST-HALF GLOBAL CONTAINER VOLUME    PSA Corp., the Singapore-based global terminal operator, reported a 26-percent increase in its worldwide container port volume for the first half of the year, to 11.42 million TEUs.
   For the first half of 2002, port volume in Singapore rose by 9 percent, to 8.21 million TEUs, despite increasing competition from the neighboring Port of Tanjung Pelepas.
   Volume at ports managed by PSA other than Singapore soared by 111 percent, to 3.21 million TEUs. The volume included, for the first time, traffic handled by newly-acquired Belgian terminal operator Hesse-Noord Natie, taken over in April.
   PSA said that the 9-percent volume rise in Singapore was due largely to strong volumes across all major markets, especially China and South Asia, and supported by robust local exports growth.
   For the month of June, PSA reported volume increases of about 10 percent in Singapore and 157 percent in overseas terminals.
   PSA recently announced a package of price reductions in terminal handling charges in Singapore, in an apparent effort to stop Tanjung Pelepas from gaining market share. Maersk Sealand switched from Singapore to Tanjung Pelapas in 2000.
   Evergreen will also transfer from Singapore to the new Malaysian port during the third quarter of this year.
   PSA promised to introduce a 50-percent discount off handling charges for all empty containers handled in Singapore for a one-year period, ending in June of next year. It will give a 10-percent rebate off all bills at PSA’s cargo terminals during the same one-year period.
   PSA also announced a change in its terminal policy in the port of Singapore, saying that it would be prepared to allow container shipping lines to have dedicated container terminals.