Saudi Ports see surge in container traffic

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

It was reported that ports in Saudi Arabia witnessed a 12.48 percent rise in the number of containers received in March, compared to the same month the previous year, according to official statistics.

The Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, revealed that the terminals within the kingdom handled 265,148 standard containers in March 2024, showing an increase from the 235,738 containers received in March of the previous year.

Additionally, there was a reported 3.77 percent increase in the total tonnage handled by these maritime facilities, amounting to 19.64 million tonnes, up from 18.93 million tonnes in March 2023.

Mawani attributed this growth to concerted efforts aimed at enhancing port infrastructure and elevating the quality of logistics services offered.

The data further indicated that general shipment volumes in the Kingdom totaled 804,837 tonnes, with solid bulk cargo accounting for 3.94 million tonnes, and liquid bulk freight amounting to 14.74 million tonnes.

Despite these increases, the operation of container handling experienced a decline of 9.85 percent, with the number of containers handled totaling 561,484, down from 622,856 containers the year prior.

Moreover, the ports noted a significant 54.12 percent increase in livestock discharge rates, with 961,131 livestock discharged, a considerable rise from the 623,644 recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.

Nevertheless, there was a slight decrease in maritime traffic by 3.01 percent, totaling 968 ships compared to 998 in the previous year, and passenger numbers saw a substantial decrease of 51.01 percent to 62,507 from the previous year’s 127,599.

Vehicle throughput also saw a decrease of 17.34 percent, tallying 67,638 compared to 81,826 in 2023.

On a positive note, the number of outgoing containers saw an 8.56 percent increase to 212,672 from 195,895 the year before.

Reflecting on these developments, a report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development highlighted Mawani’s progress in the maritime sector, noting an increase from 76.16 points in the second quarter of 2023 to 77.66 points in the third quarter of the same year.

Furthermore, in 2023, Saudi Arabia advanced 17 positions in the Logistics Performance Index issued by the World Bank, securing the 38th position globally, which underscores the Kingdom’s strides in enhancing its logistics and maritime infrastructure.

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