The number of foreign trade containers handled by the Port of Kobe in western Japan fell for the second year in a row in 2013, according to figures released by the Kobe municipal government.
The Port of Kobe handled 2.049 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of foreign trade containers in 2013, down 1.1 percent from 2.071 million TEUs in 2012.
In 2013, the Port of Kobe exported about 1.098 million TEUs of containers, down 1.8 percent from a year earlier, while it imported about 951,000 TEUs of containers, down 0.2 percent year-on-year.
The Kobe municipal government did not give container numbers in trade with individual countries. Including container trade within Japan, the Port of Kobe handled a total of 2.553 million TEUs in 2013, down 0.6 percent from 2012.
The Port of Kobe is one of Japan’s five largest container ports, along with the Port of Tokyo, the Port of Yokohama, the Port of Nagoya and the Port of Osaka. The five ports reported mixed foreign trade container cargo results for 2013.
The Port of Tokyo, the Port of Nagoya and the Port of Osaka posted rises of 2.8 percent, 1.5 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, while the Port of Yokohama posted a decline of 5.2 percent.
In terms of volume, the Port of Kobe handled 48.937 million tons of cargo, including both containerized and uncontainerized cargo, in foreign trade last year, down 0.2 percent from a year earlier. Exports totaled 21.618 million tons, down 2.8 percent, while imports amounted to 27.318 million tons, up 2.0 percent.
In trade with the United States, the Port of Kobe handled 7.169 million tons of cargo, including both containerized and uncontainerized cargo, last year, down 2.1 percent from a year earlier. Exports edged up 1.1 percent to 2.754 million tons, but imports declined 4.0 percent to 4.415 million tons.
The Journal of Commerce
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