Trade up despite port delays

Port of Tauranga has reported a 6.9 per cent increase in total trade to 6.8 million tonnes in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year.

Exports rose by 5.3 per cent to 4.3m tonnes and imports increased by 9.8 per cent to 2.5m tonnes at New Zealand’s largest port.

Chief executive Leonard Sampson says the results demonstrate the impact of congestion over the past 12 months, with some cargo being shipped in the first quarter that would usually have been transported earlier. 

Container terminal productivity “improved significantly” over the first quarter although there are still delays in transferring some import cargo to Auckland. 

He adds: “While we are still experiencing major disruption to the international supply chain, with the majority of container ships arriving off-window, we’ve been able to process more vessels and larger volumes of cargo compared to the same quarter last year.”

Ship visits increased by 7.5 per cent to 360 over the period, but “the near future remains uncertain due to the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the effects of the extended lockdown in Auckland and labour shortages being experienced across multiple industries”.

Sampson says: “Based on the first quarter’s performance, and notwithstanding any significant market changes, we expect full year earnings to be between $103m and $110m.”

Container volumes climbed by 8.1 per cent to 310,997 TEUs in the first quarter of 2021/22. Log export volumes increased 2.4 per cent to 1.6m tonnes, direct dairy exports went up by 6.7 per cent in volume and kiwifruit exports were also strong – up by 7.1 per cent.