Traffic down 4% in June at main Hong Kong terminals

Traffic down 4% in June at main Hong Kong terminals    The combined container throughput of the Kwai Chung terminals in Hong Kong fell by 4.3 percent in June, to about 960,000 TEUs, when compared to June of last year.
   The Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board reported the lower provisional container statistics for the Kwai Chung terminals, which handle about 60 percent of the total box traffic of the port of Hong Kong. Overall June statistics for the port are not yet available, a spokesman for the board said.
   The port traffic decrease for June is the latest evidence of a slow-down in the transpacific trade, following the surge in traffic in the first quarter of this year.
   In the first quarter, the Kwai Chung terminals handled 2.8 million TEUs, 13 percent more than in the corresponding period in 2002. During the second quarter, it moved 3 million TEUs, an increase of only 2 percent.
   According to industry sources, the lower statistics for June reflect both the effect of the SARS outbreak and the belief that some transpacific shippers had advanced cargo movements before May 1 to avoid rate increases due from that date.
   However, the peak shipping season for the eastbound transpacific trade is expected to start this month.