Napier Port has achieved its second highest total cargo volume result with 5.4 million tonnes delivered for the financial year to September 30.
Chief executive Todd Dawson says the port company is “satisfied” with the result considering the challenging operating environment for its cargo customers. It follows a record volume set in the year prior.
Compared to 2021, fourth quarter containerised cargo volume decreased by 0.6% and bulk cargo volume decreased by 11.5%. For the financial year, containerised cargo volume decreased by 7.9% and bulk cargo volume decreased by 7.6%.
“Trade volumes were impacted by a range of factors in the first half of the financial year, and we are pleased to see that the trend we saw in the third quarter has continued into the fourth quarter, with volumes recovering in line with the prior year,” Dawson says.
The company reports that containerised shipping conditions have remained disrupted with missed or delayed vessels and larger exchanges of cargo across fewer vessel calls.
Log export volumes for the quarter remained firm at 750,000 tonnes but are slightly down on the prior year comparative period.
Bulk cargo total tonnes reduced in the quarter, as less fertiliser and oil products were imported, with volumes in line with historical levels but less than the record quarter seen for these during the prior year comparative period.
Container Services
Total container volumes for the fourth quarter decreased 0.6% to 60,000 TEU from 61,000 TEU in the same period a year ago, due to lower imports and refrigerated exports partially offset by higher other container movements.
Total annual container volumes decreased 7.9% to 254,000 TEU from 276,000 TEU in the prior year. Full container volumes decreased 9.2%, and empty and other container movements decreased 6.1%.
Bulk Cargo
Total bulk cargo volume decreased 117,000 tonnes, or 11.5%, for the fourth quarter to 950,000 tonnes, and 7.6% for the year to 3.65 million tonnes, compared to the same periods a year ago.
Log export volumes decreased by 2.6% to 750,000 tonnes for the fourth quarter and by 5.8% to 2.8 million tonnes for the year. Firm export log volumes were maintained in the quarter and export conditions remained largely consistent with the first nine months of the financial year, the company says.
Bulk cargo imports during the quarter were 82,000 tonnes lower as less fertiliser and oil products were imported during the quarter compared to the same period a year ago.
Charter vessel calls for the quarter reduced to 74 from 87 in the prior year comparative period and decreased to 310 from 343 for the full financial year due to the lower bulk volumes and larger average vessel load sizes for log charters.
