Singapore posts 19.8% drop in February cargo-box traffic

SINGAPORE: Singapore, the world's busiest container port, has posted the biggest drop in cargo-box traffic in at least 11 years, as the global recession cuts demand.

According to preliminary figures from the Maritime and Port Authority, terminals in Singapore handled 1.85 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or standard containers, in February.

That is 19.8 per cent lower as compared to the same period a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Maritime & Port Authority.

It is the biggest decline since at least December 1997, overtaking January's 19.6 per cent on-year drop.

The dominant port operator, PSA International, moved about 3.72 million standard containers at its Singapore terminals in the first two months of 2009.

This is already down nearly 20 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.

Terminals in Singapore handled about 30 million containers last year.