São Paulo – Dubai-based port operator DP World reported, this Tuesday (23), a 2.6% container volumes growth in the year’s first nine months. The company handled a total of 53.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) across its global portfolio from January to September, against 52.2 million in the same months of 2017.
The company reported a decline of 1.4% in volume handling in Q3, from 18.2 million TEUs from July to September of 2017 to 18 million TEUs in the same months of this year. The drop was due to lower cargo volumes in the UAE.
The company reports that the United Arab Emirates handled 11,3 million TEUs in the year’s first nine months, down 2.1% due to a challenging macroeconomic environment and the loss of lower-margin cargo. In this year’s Q3, volume handling by the UAE dropped 6.7% to 3.6 million TEUs.
DP World reports UAE results within the region’s results, which includes the Middle East, Europe and Africa. In all, this group handled 22.2 million TEUs from January to September, a 1.7% growth, and 7.3 million TEUs in Q3, a 4.4% decline.
DP World operates in Brazil as the owner of a port terminal, DP World Santos, in Santos, São Paulo south coastline. In the Americas and Australia, which includes Brazil, the company handled 6.7 million TEUs from January to September, an increase of 3.7%, and 2.3 million TEUs in Q3, up 1%.
“We have seen our volume growth decelerate due to the strong prior year performance and general caution in the market given the current uncertainty in global trade,” said DP World’s chief executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. According to him, in the UAE the company is still focusing on higher-margin cargo and, because of this, the near-term volume outlook in Jebel Ali remains challenging. “We have taken measures to maintain profitability,” he said.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
