Qingdao, the seventh-busiest port by cargo volume in 2011, expects to see its cargo volume increase in double digits this year. The port handled 372 million metric tons of cargo in 2011. Its goal for this year is more than 400 million tons of cargo and 14.5 million TEU of containers. “We are very confident about achieving this year’s goal,” said Chang Dechuan, Chairman of Qingdao Port (Group) Co. He added that Qingdao port will lower its charges to help shipping liners weather this difficult period. Qingdao, unlike other ports, faces the problem of having relatively little capacity. With 1.3% of China’s port shoreline, it handled 6.9% of the country’s total cargo transported by sea in 2010. To expand its capacity, Qingdao port plans to invest CNY30 billion by 2015 in the 400,000-ton Dongjiakou ore terminal, which is expected to become operational later this year. In addition, the port also intends to build a 300,000-ton oil terminal and a coal terminal whose capacity “is still under discussion”, Chang said. Chinese ports handled a total cargo volume of 792 million tons in August, up 2% year-on-year – the smallest increase since the beginning of this year, according to the Ministry of Transport. In the meantime, Chinese ports’ container throughput reached 15.11 million TEU in August, up 3.9% year-on-year, according to official data.

Faced with stagnant growth, port operators in Shenzhen are investing in faster-growing ports in other parts of the country and diversifying their business. “Shenzhen port companies are already investing in other mainland ports. They think northern ports have greater growth potential,” said Ma Yongzhi, Vice Director General of the Shenzhen Port Administration. In the first eight months of this year, container throughput at Shenzhen,China’s second-busiest port and the world’s fourth-busiest, grew 1.4% to 15.09 million TEU, according to official data. At Ningbo, China’s third-busiest port, throughput rose 8.7% to 10.8 million TEU. “I won’t rule out the possibility of Ningbo surpassing Shenzhen in future,” said Bank of China Analyst Matthew Xu. “A lot of industries are shifting from the Pearl River Delta to the Yangtze River Delta and central China including Chongqing, which benefits Ningbo. What the Shenzhen port companies are doing is to find a new source of growth. Investing in other areas is the only way for the business to grow.” Shenzhen Yantian Port Holdings paid CNY1.36 billion for a 35% stake in the port of Caofeidian in Hebei province in August last year. It said the aim of the investment was to create a new profit growth driver. “The company will use this investment to extend its business to the Bohai Sea, which is of great strategic importance and will benefit the company’s long-term development,” it said. In the first half of this year, Yantian Port booked its first profit of CNY32.54 million from Caofeidian. This was a significant portion of overall group profit, given that it dropped 23.62% to CNY179.79 million in the period. Caofeidian’s cargo throughput jumped 70.8% to 23 million tons in the first half. In contrast, the container throughput of Yantian International Container Terminals, a joint venture between Yantian Port and Hutchison Port Holdings, dropped 7.95% to 1.31 million TEU. It also invested in other ports and even in toll roads. Yantian Port’s toll-road subsidiary in Xiangtan, Hunan province, made a significant contribution to its revenue of CNY160.3 million in the first half. While revenue from Shenzhen’s port operations fell 12.84% to CNY150.26 million, Xiangtan’s rose 25.25% to CNY10.04 million.

The ports of Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen defied international gloom to surprise analysts with a strong rebound in cargo and container throughput last month. Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, processed 2.91 million TEU in September, a record month for the facility, according to the Shanghai International Port (Group), the city’s port operator. The container volume was a 5.6% increase on the same time last year, following year-on-year falls in August and July. September’s throughput was also 11.6% higher than that of August. Shanghai’s cargo throughput rose 10.1% year-on-year to 44.42 million tons last month. Ningbo processed 20% more containers, or 1.59 million TEU, in September compared with the same time last year. Its cargo throughput soared 23.5% to 40.8 million tons. The ports of Mawan and Chiwan in west Shenzhen posted a 5% year-on-year rise in container throughput, after suffering a 7% decline in the first eight months of the year, JPMorgan Analyst Karen Li said. Part of the reason for Shanghai and Ningbo’s strong performance was bad weather in July and August, which hurt trade in the Yangtze River Delta where the two ports are located, she said. Despite the bullish data, Sunny Ho, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Shippers’ Council, remains pessimistic about trade in the Pearl River Delta. “Manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta are not seeing any encouraging signs. The worst time for them will be the first quarter of 2013,” Ho said. Industry analysts attributed the cargo volume recovery to Christmas orders placed by retailers in Europe and the United States, and export boosting measures adopted by the Chinese government.

The Shanghai International Shipping Institute reported its Chinese shipping industry prosperity index decreased by 16.37 points from the second quarter to the third quarter, dropping to 78.17 points. A score above 100 on the index indicates prosperous times for the industry. The Institute’s shipping confidence index slumped by 19.37 points from the second quarter to the third quarter, falling to 44.05 points, and more than 63% of shipping businesses that were polled in the survey said they were pessimistic about the industry’s prospects. In the first half of the year, listed Chinese port companies posted a combined net profit of CNY6.41 billion, edging down 0.5% year-on-year. The nine biggest Chinese shipping enterprises, including China Cosco Holdings Co and China Shipping Container Lines, reported an aggregate loss of nearly CNY8 billion in the first half of the year. Wei Jiafu, Chairman of Cosco Group, China’s biggest ship operator, has asked for government aid on several occasions. In the survey conducted by the Shanghai International Shipping Institute, 28% of shipping corporations said the government should take steps to prevent listed shipping companies that have posted losses in consecutive years from being delisted. The report advised them to strengthen their ability to make profits and reduce their expenses by postponing the delivery of new vessels and combining relatively inefficient shipping routes. The Ministry of Transport said it will help privately owned shipping and port enterprises become stronger competitors overseas by offering them favorable tax, financing and insurance policies. The Ministry also said it encourages private shipping and port companies to cooperate with state-owned companies, the China Daily reports.

Key Chinese ports such as Shanghai could boost container volumes and revenues if they are allowed to let foreign carriers transship international cargo at Chinese hub ports, according to Tom Behrens-Sorensen, Co-founder and Partner at Navisino Advisors (Beijing). He added that stakeholders including Shanghai International Port Group in Shanghai “have been lobbying for it to happen”. Under current cabotage rules, foreign shipping lines are banned from transporting domestic cargo, similar to the situation in the United States. China’s cabotage regulations include moving international containers from ports such as Qingdao or Yantai and transshipping them through Shanghai for onward shipment overseas. Behrens-Sorensen said the change would bring economic benefits for ports and shipping lines. “The potential savings would run into billions of U.S. dollars.” Shanghai’s Yangshan port was an “obvious place to run trials where it could happen” because it was offshore and a controlled environment. Container ships operating Asia-Europe services from Bohai ports such as Qingdao and Tianjin would be able to load U.S.-bound cargo and transship it at Yangshan to North American services. “Today they can’t do that,” Behrens-Sorensen said. Charles de Trenck, Founder of consultancy Transport Trackers, said transshipment had not been on ports’ radar “because volume growth was so strong”, but with throughput increases dipping below 10% to 15% in recent years, “it is now making more sense as a complementary strategy”, the South China Morning Post reports.